19th Century Isabeline Wall Mirror in Gilded Wood, Spain, 1890s

Details

Description

Wall mirror, Isabeline style, gilded wood, 19th century - Spain
Materials: Carved and gilded wood, mirror
Style: Isabeline
Period: Late … Read more Wall mirror, Isabeline style, gilded wood, 19th century - Spain
Materials: Carved and gilded wood, mirror
Style: Isabeline
Period: Late 19th / Early 20th century
Country of origin: Spain
Provenance: Private collection
Good condition considering its age and use / Crack in the mirror, as shown in the images.

Overall dimensions: 113 x 76 x 5 cm.

Dimensions without frame: 75 x 58 cm.

Elegant gilded wall mirror in the Isabeline style, made between the late 19th and early 20th centuries in Spain.
The mirror features a crest at the top with vegetal and floral motifs and a central medallion. The frame is also decorated with vegetal motifs and fine moldings that do not detract from the prominence of the upper section. The mirror has some minor cracks in the upper left corner, as well as some small cracks in the wooden crest that do not affect the overall appearance. On the Isabelline Style.

The so-called Isabelline style developed in Spain during the reign of Isabella II, roughly between the 1830s and 1860s, in a context marked by the consolidation of bourgeois society and the renewal of decorative tastes in domestic interiors. In the realm of decorative arts and furniture, this style fully reflects the historicist and eclectic trends characteristic of 19th-century Europe, adopting and reinterpreting models from various artistic traditions of the past. The Isabelline style proper was equivalent to the English Victorian style and the French Second Empire style.

from a formal point of view, the Isabelline style is characterized by the combination of ornamental repertoires inspired by the Baroque and Rococo, along with elements inherited from the Renaissance and Neoclassicism. Furniture is dominated by curved lines, dynamic structures, and rich, meticulous decoration, with an abundance of scrolls, vegetal motifs, cartouches, and ornamental carvings. Likewise, the use of fine woods, gilding, marquetry, and metalwork is common, resources that contribute to reinforcing the ornamental and representative dimension of the pieces.

It constitutes a characteristic manifestation of 19th-century eclecticism in Spain, recovering and reinterpreting historical styles to achieve a particularly decorative aesthetic, intended for the ostentation of the upper classes. See less