Louis XVI style
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Louis XVI style
This reaction to rococo flippancy predated and outlasted the king whose name describes it. Sparing neoclassical themes and straight lines returned. The cabriole leg was ousted by square or round-turned feet and then the saber leg. Breakfront case shapes replaced the flamboyant bombé. Plain or pale colors supplemented brighter ones. More numerous skilled cabinetmakers obtained wider patronage. Three specialized types of commode appeared in the 1770s followed c. 1775 by the bonheur de jour, a popular cabinetsurmounted small writing desk.
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