Antiques in the Biedermeier style – classic functionality

The Biedermeier style was born in Germany and Austria in the period after the Napoleonic Wars, and was dominant in the countries of Central Europe. It also became popular in the Scandinavian countries. Its heyday falls on the years from 1815 to 1848. The Biedermeier style is recognized primarily in the furniture making, but it is also present in painting, porcelain, glass, music, and literature. The name of the style derives from the combination of the adjective “bieder,” which means “honest”, “simple,” and the suffix “meier,” typical of most German names. For the first time, the name “Biedermeier” was used to describe the style only in the 1930s.

Although the Biedermeier style drew inspiration from both the Empire and Regency styles, the contemporary archaeological discoveries of Pompeii and Herculaneum also had a major impact. Hence, the Neoclassical references in the form of various types of ornamentation, such as: cornices, columns, pilasters, or entablatures. They were often made of ebony or ebonized wood to contrast the rest. These architectural ornaments gave the furniture the shape of architectural buildings. This is best seen in the shapes of the secretary desks. The style manifested itself most expressively at the level of interior furnishings. Its mark is especially visible in the appearance of the furniture. Simple, functional lines and surfaces covered with attractive veneers of walnut, cherry, maple or birch have become characteristic of the aesthetics of the Biedermeier style. Models of this type were characterized by symmetry and clean lines, and the veneers were the most important decorative element that was intended to delight with its beauty. The style rejected everything that was unnecessary and impractical. The furniture was to serve the comfort and coziness of life in the privacy of the home, mainly that of the bourgeoisie. The representativeness was put in second place. The thriftiness and unpretentiousness became the most important features. The furniture makers attempted to design in the most economical way possible; to use available space to the maximum. Because apartments were mostly small, they had to adjust the size of their works.

The main rule in the interior furnishing was to place the furniture in the corners of a room so that the center of a living room often remained empty.
Another common practice was to mask the corner right angles. For example, corner closets were used for that purpose. Also, couches were placed in the corners, which were often complemented with a table and chairs. Although the style was present on a huge area, it is hard to determine its time and place of origin, because the furniture was rarely signed or dated. Certain features, however, allow the experts to determine the period of origin, and to isolate the items that are characteristic of the most dominant centers of manufacture, such as Vienna, Berlin, Northern Germany, South-Western Germany, or Munich. What distinguishes the furniture from Vienna are, first of all, the gracefulness of the design, and the appearance that seems “lighter” than the more monumental, sound-looking models from Germany. The furniture from Berlin was closer in its stylistics to the Neo-Classicism, and the secretary desks from this region had very distinctive socles, wider than the top. On the other hand, the northern part of Germany was characterized by very simple shapes of the furniture, and the lack of decorations. Elements such as columns or gildings were almost not present. Sometimes, the motifs of a fan or a shell were introduced as an insert made of two-colored veneer. Early Biedermeier furniture is characterized by box-like structure, and the fineness of the profiles, which over time became less restrained and more decorative, with a tendency to wavy shapes, bulges, and exaggeration. Such features help in dating the furniture. What also indicated the place of manufacture was the veneer made of wood typical for certain regions. For example, mahogany or birchen versions were used more often in the northern area of Germany. In the south of Germany, the characteristic feature was the use of burl, and the most common were ash, cherry, and walnut veneers.

In painting of that period, watercolors and oil paintings depicting residential interiors increased in popularity. The artists became documentarians of everyday life. The landscapes were dominated by an idealized picture of nature, and meticulousness in depicting the details. Typical for the Biedermeier painting are also small sizes of the paintings, and the intimate atmosphere. The Biedermeier style had been underestimated for many years, and had been considered to be without any artistic values. This attitude changed only at the end of the 19th century, when the Biedermeier style gained recognition and became desirable. At the turn of the centuries, it inspired contemporary designers, and became an example to follow. Several phases of the rebirth that it has undergone have had a significant effect on generations to come.