Black lacquered chinoiserie furniture pieces are historically associated with 18th century Europe. Chinoiserie is French for ‘oriental looking’ it is the European expression of a fascination with Chinese art and culture.
Common motifs associated with chinoiserie pieces - cranes, pagodas, and bonsai trees - became symbolic to the European representation of Chinese art. Rather than being an expression of Chinese art, chinoiserie is the expression of the Western compulsion to fixate. Chinoiserie is an art of imitation.
Butterflies were a common motif in 17th century Chinese art yet less common in chinoiserie furniture. To give the client something which is still true to the time period yet somewhat unique, butterflies are the main motif on this piece and are located on every panel. In keeping with the time period, I referenced a Qing dynasty tapestry adorned with butterfly motifs.
To give the client a similar aesthetic to these historic pieces, I used acrylic gouache to paint the piece. From what research I could find, historically these were done with egg tempera paint, which I did not have access to. Gouache has a texture which is between watercolor and oil paint which provides an atmospheric finish with texture and opacity.
All scenery was freehand painted, measured accurately according to the rendering, and consisted of ~60 hours of painting.
Chinoiserie is French for oriental looking and papillon is French for butterfly.
Sources:
-Hayman, Richard. Chinoiserie. Vol. 886. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2021.
- Reference for butterflies: Woman’s Sleeveless Jacket with Butterflies. Woman's Sleeveless Jacket with Butterflies | China | Qing dynasty (1644–1911) | The Metropolitan Museum of Art (metmuseum.org)
-Reference for paint type: Venezia '700 Chinoiserie Venetian-Style Black Secretaire Vangelista 1960 | Artemest
Scenery painted on wood samples
Rendered mock-up of the final piece created using Rhino 3D and Procreate.
Sample paintings were created and sent to the client to give a more atmospheric sense of the painting style, color palette, and aesthetic beyond the rendered model. In total 12 12x8 sample paintings were produced.
As a way to commemorate the design process, and gift the client something unique to their piece, I assembled a project diary. The project diary was an active part of the design process and contains thoughts and ideas which extend beyond the finished piece.
The project diary consists of all notes, sketches, and sample paintings bound and gifted to the client.
Hand painted gold detailing on the exterior of the packaging painted to match the finished piece.
