Cabinet. Flanders, 1740-1750.

Cabinet. Flanders, 1740-1750.
Oak wood structure; brass; tortoiseshell imitation; bone; oil on panel.
Measurements: 165 x 98 x 46 cm.

Flemish cabinet that constitutes an outstanding example of the most exclusive cabinetmaking of Northern Europe. Made in oak wood, its exterior surface appears completely ebonized, with the will to emulate the expensive ebony wood, symbol of refinement in the furniture.

The prismatic cabinet has three entrances: two hinged doors at the front and a third hinged door at the top. The front doors, built with a stretcher frame and panel, are decorated with curled moldings, an element typical of Flemish baroque taste.

Opening the upper panel reveals a pair of panel paintings framing a central mirror. Similarly, the two main doors hide on the back a pictorial program composed of four small panels arranged around a fifth central one inscribed within a hexagon. The exhibition is organized around a central chapel flanked by torsa columns; in this is reproduced "The Mystical Marriage of St. Catherine", whose original, by Peter Paul Rubens, was conceived around 1628 for the altarpiece of the church of the Augustinians in Antwerp.

On both sides of the chapel there are four drawers on each flank, eight in total, all decorated with small oil paintings and tortoiseshell applications framed by fine bone fillets. The main body of the cabinet rests on a table or buffet with four turned legs joined by an H-shaped chambrana, decorated on its skirt with semicircular arches.

Originally, Flemish bargueños and desks were conceived as functional furniture, intended to guard documents and valuables, hence the presence of locks and secret compartments. However, throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, their utilitarian character gave way to a representative function: they became emblems of prestige and economic power. The incorporation of sumptuous materials and the addition of paintings or mirrors, as in this example, transformed these pieces of furniture into authentic works of art destined to be displayed in the aristocratic interiors of Baroque Europe.