Offered by Franck Baptiste Provence
Pair of flat-backed armchairs by F.N. Geny, Lyon, circa 1775
A rare pair of flat-backed armchairs, known as "à la reine" style, in pearl-grey lacquered walnut.
The medallion-shaped backs feature ribboned crossbars adorned with an openwork braid knot at the top. The horseshoe-shaped seat is connected to the back by two shaped brackets, as well as by armrest supports with a whiplash-like, energetic finish.
The lower, deeply molded crossbars are decorated with a small Greek-style recess that holds a carved ribbon knot. The chairs rest on four tapered legs with asparagus-shaped fluting, joined to the crossbars by floral feet. Rare "mint condition"; original lacquer.
The natural horsehair stuffing and silk upholstery have been fully restored by our upholsterer. Two armchairs stamped "F.GENY" for the Lyon cabinetmaker François Noël Geny, who became a master in 1772.
Lyon work from the transition between the Louis XV and Louis XVI periods, circa 1775.
Dimensions:
Height: 104 cm; Width: 69 cm; Depth: 53 cm
Provenance:
Private collection, Neuilly-sur-Seine
Our opinion:
The two armchairs we are presenting are particularly atypical and perfectly illustrate the research conducted during the Transition period to evolve the decorative vocabulary of the Louis XV style towards pieces already imbued with Neoclassicism. François Noël Geny here incorporates some of the most emblematic elements developed by the great Lyon master Pierre Nogaret, with whom he trained, notably the famous ribboned fasces and the armrests with their energetic whiplash curve, which became true hallmarks of Lyon furniture from the end of Louis XV's reign.
The cabinetmaker, however, asserts his own distinct personality through several particularly innovative elements: the medallion-shaped backrests, the openwork knots that no longer pass through the crossbar but elegantly overhang it, the horseshoe-shaped seat, and the small Greek-style recesses that already clearly foreshadow the Louis XVI style.
The remarkable quality of execution, the precision of the joinery, and the finesse of the carvings testify to François Noël Geny's dual apprenticeship, first in Paris, then with Pierre Nogaret, considered the greatest provincial chairmaker of the 18th century.
Our two armchairs, preserved in exceptional condition, thus brilliantly illustrate the excellence of Lyon's production at the end of Louis XV's reign, but also the gradual emancipation from Parisian models, the freedom of formal exploration remaining here profoundly Lyonnais.
In conclusion, we can simply say that this craftsman adapted and extended the creative genius of Pierre Nogaret a few years after his death.
François Noël Geny was born around 1731 in Paris. Trained as a journeyman carpenter, he participated in the 1749 riots between Parisian carpenters and their masters before leaving the capital for Lyon a few years later. Settling in the parish of Saint-Pierre-le-Vieux in the early 1750s, he worked notably for the master carpenter Pierre Nogaret. He married Marie Bissuelle in 1752 and, after her death, Marie Anne Dubreuil in 1761. During this period, he associated with several Lyon artisans, such as Claude Levet and the sculptor Jean-Louis Brache. His master craftsman's certificate, sent from Paris in 1772 and validated by the Consulate of Lyon, allowed him to officially practice as a master carpenter. He then produced chairs in the Louis XV, Transitional, Louis XVI, and Directoire styles. Established in Place de Roanne from 1777, he also trained apprentices, while his sons followed in his footsteps as carpenters.
François Noël Geny died on January 13, 1804, at the Hôtel-Dieu in Lyon, while still working as a master carpenter on Rue de l’Évêché.
