Getty Museum
Pair of Commodes
Creator
Bernard II van RisenburghFrench Artist · 1696–1766
All works by this person →The four mysterious initials of the stamp B.V.R.B. concealed a dynasty of *ébénistes* of Netherlandish origin whose identity was only uncovered in 1957. Although all used the same Christian name and surname, Bernard II van Risenburgh was the first to stamp his furniture using the monogram *BVRB* ; he is now regarded as the greatest *ébéniste* of the reign of Louis XV. BVRB specialized in furniture
More on Getty ULAN- Date
- about 1750
- Medium
- White oak veneered with bloodwood, kingwood and amaranth; drawers of walnut and white oak; gilt-bronze mounts; brass, steel and iron locks; modern campan grand mélange marble tops
- Culture
- French
- Department
- Decorative Arts
- Institution
- Getty Museum
- Object ID
- 2e98a5cd-4363-4d29-ba0f-23be219d6a03
From the Getty Museum record
The pair of commodes were possibly part of a larger set of similarly decorated pieces that were all in the collection of the ruling family in Dresden, Germany, at the end of the 1700s. Gilt-bronze mounts of a stag attacked by dogs decorate the fronts of this pair; guns, quivers for arrows, and hunting horns overlay the corner mounts. These elements symbolize the hunt, one of the most important pastimes of the nobility in the 1700s, when stag hunting was considered the highest art of the sport. The commodes are stamped BVRB indicating that they were made by the Parisian cabinetmaker Bernard II van Risenburgh. However, they are not typical of his work, perhaps because they were apparently made not for a French client, but for a German one. Pieces of similar size and shape are not found elsewhere among his works, nor is the marquetry typical of his style and the large and profuse gilt-bronze mounts are of designs quite unlike any others used by him.
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