Charles X

Charles X was the King of France for six years from 1824 until 1830. He was known as the Count of Artois for most of his life, being the younger brother of the ill-fated Louis XVI, the uncrowned Louis XVII and Louis XVIII whom he succeeded.

He abdicated in 1830 as the result of the July Revolution of that year and was succeeded by King Louis Philippe. He died in Gorizia, which was part of the Austrian Empire at that time.

The artistic style named after him is characterised by furniture that reflected the romantic trend and became more supple and lighter than that of the preceding Empire period with the curved line making a comeback. There was also a renewed passion for the Gothic period. The period also saw the ascendancy of popular taste dictating decorative style with the rise of the new bourgeois replacing the King as arbiter of good taste.

The art of marquetry revived using decorative flowers, garlands and rosettes as motifs in a wide range of woods. Woods such as burr elm or ash, maple, sycamore, satinwood and walnut were contrasted with mahogany, rosewood and ebony.