Giuseppe Borsato (1770 - 1849), Cherry Table With Gilded And Carved Wood Decorations

Giuseppe Borsato (Toppo, 1770 - Venice 1849), Cherry table with gilded and carved wood decorations.

79x140x82.5 cm.
First half of the 19th century.

This table, embellished with elaborate decorations, is made of cherry wood, a noble wood widely used in fine Venetian cabinetmaking. The choice of this wood lends the piece a warm patina, creating a less severe and more refined chromatic contrast with the gilded parts compared to mahogany.

The tabletop rests on an imposing ribbed band. The piece is supported by four legs, arched en jarret and finished with gilded trim, terminating in winged lion heads at the top and powerful feline paws at the bottom, lending visual and physical stability. The carving is typical of large Venetian public commissions. The large, outstretched wings, which follow the curve of the leg, give the table a rising momentum that balances the gravity of its volume. The piece is completed with two drawers crafted with elegant fluting.

The use of cherry wood places this piece in a mature phase of the Italian Empire style, when the reliance on French mahogany models gave way to a softer, more local sensibility.

BIOGRAPHY

Giuseppe Borsato, a prolific artist active primarily in the Veneto region, was the set designer for the Teatro La Fenice and a decorator for Napoleon and the Habsburgs. He was responsible for the decorations of the Royal Palace of Venice and the Villa Reale in Stra; he also took great care in the furnishings, designing furniture and highly prized objects such as tables, chairs, vases, chandeliers, and frames.

His greatness lay in conceiving furniture not as an object isolated from its context, but as a coherent part of a scenography. In this way, he decorated the rooms he was commissioned to design, bringing them to life through the furnishings he designed.