Pair of Louis XV style candlesticks; France, c. 1900.

Pair of Louis XV style candlesticks; France, c. 1900.
Gilded bronze.
Measurements: 17 x 21 x 11 cm (x2).
Pair of two-armed candlesticks executed in finely chiseled and gilded bronze, ascribable to the Louis XV style. Each piece is organized around a central shaft with a sinuous profile that rises from a circular molded base, developing in a dynamic play of curves and counter-curves. From this axis emerge two asymmetrically undulating arms that support the candle holders in the form of small goblets, arranged on vegetal washers. The ornamental repertoire is composed of acanthus leaves, scrolls and stylized vegetal motifs that run fluidly across the surface, integrating structure and decoration in the same formal impulse.
These characteristics refer to the language of the Louis XV style, developed in France during the reign of Louis XV and closely linked to Rococo aesthetics. As opposed to the symmetry and severity of the preceding classicism, the new taste favored asymmetry, visual lightness and continuous movement of lines. In the decorative arts, and particularly in the production of decorative bronzes, the style reached a remarkable degree of technical refinement thanks to the virtuosity of the Parisian bronze artists, who perfected casting and chiseling, as well as the application of mercury gilding to obtain surfaces of great luminous richness.