The Alphabet of Art & Antiques – C is for …

August 4, 2020

Cabriole leg

Cabriole refers to a popular furniture leg with the knee curving outward and the ankle curving inward terminating in an ornamental foot. It is commonly associated with Queen Anne and Chippendale styles of antique furniture. When used with Chippendale furniture, the cabriole leg commonly terminates with a ball and claw foot. In Queen Anne examples, the pad foot was popular, but other foot styles were used with these legs as well.

An ornate wooden antique desk with a rich brown finish, curved legs, detailed marquetry, and brass handles. The desk features a total of five drawers—two on each side and one in the middle—displaying a distinct vintage style that showcases the art of fine antiques craftsmanship.

From Antonio’s Bella Casa: Striking circa 1760, hand-carved, five drawer Sicilian desk with original ormolu mounts and cabriole legs

Caquetoire

The caquetoire, or conversation chair, was an armchair style which emerged during the European Renaissance. It was largely used in France, and is one of the most well-known pieces of furniture from the French Renaissance. Due to fashions of the time and the lack of heating systems in homes, women wore several layers of skirts and petticoats to keep warm. This often prevented them from fitting comfortably into armchairs with rectangular seats. A caquetoire seat is splayed so women in their large skirts could easily sit.

A wooden armchair with a tall, arched backrest, curved arms, and turned legs. The chair has a slightly angled seat and ornate details, giving it an antique, rustic appearance reminiscent of fine antiques. The wood is dark, showing signs of age and wear.

French 16th century walnut caquetoire, image via Christie’s

Cameo

A cameo is a material that is carved with a raised relief that often depicts a profile of a face or a mythical scene. Cameos are commonly made out of shell, coral, stone (often agate or onyx), lava, or glass. The most common motif of antique cameo jewelry depicts a profile of a face or mythical creature. There are typically two colored layers; generally, figures are carved in one layer so that they are raised on the background of the second layer. England’s Queen Victoria is credited with popularizing shelled cameos in the 19th century.

An oval cameo brooch with a white relief of a woman’s profile, adorned with flowers, on a blue background. This exquisite piece of art is framed by a gold and silver border with small pearls, featuring intricate decorative details that make it a true treasure among antiques.

From Lang Antiques: Victorian blue agate cameo pin

Cellarette

A cellarette or cellaret is a small furniture cabinet, available in various sizes, shapes, and designs (and sometimes portable) which is used to store bottles of alcoholic beverages, as well as decanters and glasses. Prohibition in the United States brought about variations of trompe l’oeil cellarettes designed to conceal illegal alcoholic beverages. To the casual observer, the three dimensional trompe l’oeil artwork on these cellarettes made them appear to be an ordinary table, bookcase, or other piece of furniture.

Rectangular wooden chest on short feet with carved floral and shell motifs on the upper panel, vertical designs on each side, and a central lion head holding a brass ring. Exemplifying fine Art and Antiques craftsmanship, the wood is polished, with a deep reddish-brown tone against a neutral gray background.

From Carlton Hobbs: A carved mahogany neoclassical cellarette designed by Thomas Hope, early 19th century

Chiaroscuro

Italian for “light-dark,” chiaroscuro is the use of strong contrasts between luminosity and shadow to achieve a sense of volume and dimensionality. This unique technique was developed during the Italian Renaissance by Leonard da Vinci, the Baroque period by Caravaggio, and the Dutch Golden Age by Rembrandt.

A man in a dark, ornate outfit and a black hat with large white feathers gazes forward. He has curly brown hair and a serious expression. The lighting highlights his face and the rich, antique quality of his clothing against a shadowy, neutral background, evoking the timeless allure of fine art.

Self portrait wearing a white feathered bonnet, by Rembrandt, oil on pane, 1635

Contrapposto

In sculpture, contrapposto (“counterpose” in Italian) is an asymmetrical posture in which most of a figure’s weight is distributed onto one foot. This results in a realistic stance, as famously evident in Michelangelo’s David statue (below).

Marble statue of a nude male figure standing upright, with curly hair, detailed muscles, and one hand holding an object near his shoulder. This striking work of art stands on a pedestal against a curved, paneled background wall, recalling the timeless elegance found in classical antiques.

Color Field

Color Field painting is a style of abstract painting that emerged in New York City during the 1940s and 1950s. It was inspired by European modernism and closely related to abstract expressionism, while many of its notable early proponents were among the pioneering abstract expressionists. Color field is characterized primarily by large fields of flat, solid color spread across or stained into the canvas creating areas of unbroken surface and a flat picture plane. The movement places less emphasis on gesture, brushstrokes and action in favor of an overall consistency of form and process. In color field painting “color is freed from objective context and becomes the subject in itself.” Artists who are considered part of the Color Field style include Mark Rothko, Clyfford Still, Helen Frankenthaler, Barnett Newman, Robert Motherwell and Frank Stella.

Abstract art painting with three horizontal rectangles: a bright yellow band on top, a large orange section in the center, and a deep reddish-purple band near the bottom. The colors are softly blended, with blurry edges and visible brushstrokes that evoke a sense of timelessness found in cherished antiques.

Mark Rothko, UNTITLED (No. 73), 1952
© 1998 Kate Rothko Prizel & Christopher Rothko /Artist Rights Society (ARS), New York

Cloisonné

Cloisonné is decorative work in which copper filaments are glued or soldered to a metal surface—gold in the Near East, bronze or copper in China—to create tiny compartments, or cloisons, that are then filled with ground glass blended with metallic oxides to produce colorful enamels.

Scalloped-edged plate with vibrant floral patterns in red, yellow, white, and blue on a turquoise background. Gold accents border the rim. The central medallion features clustered flowers, surrounded by intricate vine and blossom designs. Reminiscent of fine antiques, the plate has a decorative, ornate style that beautifully embodies both art and timeless elegance.

Dish with scalloped rim early 15th century, Image via The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Craquelure

From the French word for “cracking”, craquelure describes a pattern of fine cracks on the surface of a painting or a ceramic object. In an oil painting, craquelure forms because the paint dries and becomes less flexible as it ages and shrinks. It can be used by experts to determine the age of a painting and to detect forgeries.

Close-up of a classical painting showing two brown eyes gazing downward, with delicate cracks across the surface hinting at the artwork’s age and texture—a true treasure among antiques. The skin tones are warm, and fine brushwork highlights the contours and shadows around the eyes.

The Ghent Altarpiece Jan and Hubert van Eyck. Detail of craquelure in the Virgin Mary panel. Oil on panel. Completed ca. 1432. Cathedral of St. Bavo, Ghent, Belgium

By Vera Vandenbosch