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André-Charles Boulle (11 November 1642 – 28 February 1732) was the French cabinetmaker who is generally considered to be the preeminent artist in the field of marquetry, even "the most remarkable of all French cabinetmakers."〔Theodore Dell, ''The Frick Collection, V: Furniture in the Frick Collection'' (1992:187).〕 His fame in marquetry led to his name being given to the fashion he perfected of inlaying brass and tortoiseshell, known as ''Boulle'' (or, in 19th-century Britain, ''Buhl work''). ==Life== André-Charles Boulle, the son of Jean Boulle (originally called Johan Bolt) was of German origin, being born in the Duchy of Guelders. André-Charles became the most famous of his family. Boulle's skill and reputation must have begun at a comparatively early age;〔 Jean Nérée Ronfort, "André-Charles Boulle (1642-1732). Chronologie nouvelle de sa vie et de son œuvre" ''Dossier de l'Art'', Nr 124, November 2005, pp. 8-31, Editions Faton, Dijon. 〕 by age 30 he had already been granted one of those lodgings in the galleries of the Louvre which Henri IV had set apart for the use of the most favoured among the artists employed by the crown. To be admitted to these galleries not only signified a mark of special royal favor, but gave the important privilege of freedom from the trammels of the trade guilds. In 1672 Louis XIV gave Boulle the deceased Jean Macé's own lodging upon the recommendation of the minister of the arts, Jean-Baptiste Colbert, who described Boulle as ''le plus habile ébéniste de Paris''; the patent conferring this privilege also describes him as a chaser, gilder and maker of marquetry. He received the post of ''premier ébéniste du Roi''.〔Dell 1992:187.〕 Boulle appears to have started out as a painter, since the first payment to him by the crown of which there is any record (1669) specifies ''ouvrages de peinture''. He was employed for many years at Versailles, where the mirrored walls, the floors of wood mosaic, the inlaid paneling and the marquetery furniture in the Cabinet du Dauphin (1682–1686) were regarded as his most remarkable work.〔 Jean Nérée Ronfort, "André-Charles Boulle. Commandes pour le Grand Dauphin à Versailles" ''Dossier de l'Art'', Nr 124, November 2005, pp. 38-63, Editions Faton, Dijon.〕 These rooms were dismantled in the 18th century and their outmoded contents dispersed,〔 but an inventory of their ornamentation recently surfaced in the National Archives in Paris.〔 Jean Nérée Ronfort, "Inventaire d'un des magasins de la Direction Générale des Bâtiments du Roy à Versailles (c.1744-1746)", ''Dossier de l'Art'', Nr 124, November 2005, pp. 64-65, Editions Faton, Dijon.〕 Boulle carried out numerous royal commissions, as we learn both from the accounts of the Bâtiments du Roi and from the correspondence of the marquis de Louvois. Foreign princes and the great nobles, government ministers and financiers of his own country crowded to him with commissions, and the ''mot'' of the abbé de Marolles, ''Boulle y tourne en ovale'', has become a stock quotation in the literature of French cabinetmaking.〔 Boulle's output included commodes, bureaux, armoires, pedestals, clockcases and lighting-fixtures, richly mounted with gilt-bronze that he modeled himself. Despite his distinction, the facility with which he worked, the high prices he obtained, and his workshops full of clever craftsmen, Boulle appears to have constantly lacked for money, in part the result of his obsession for collecting works of art. He did not always pay his workmen. Clients who had made considerable advances failed to obtain the fine pieces they had ordered; more than one application was made for permission to arrest him for debt under orders of the courts within the asylum of the Louvre. In 1704, the king granted him six months' protection from his creditors on condition that Boulle use the time to regulate his affairs or ''ce sera la dernière grace que sa majesté lui fera là-dessus''. Twenty years later, one of Boulle's sons was arrested at Fontainebleau and kept in prison for debt until King Louis XV had him released.〔 In 1720 his finances were still further embarrassed by a fire which, beginning in another atelier, extended to his workshop in the Place du Louvre (one of three he maintained〔Dell 1992:187.〕) and destroyed twenty workbenches and their associated tools of eighteen ébénistes and two menuisiers, and most of the seasoned materials, appliances, models, and finished work. The salvage was sold, and a petition for financial help was sent to the Regent, the result of which does not appear in surviving documents. According to Boulle's friend Pierre-Jean Mariette, many of his pecuniary difficulties were caused by his passion for collecting pictures, engravings, and other objects of art. The inventory of his losses in the fire, which exceeded 40,000 ''livres'', enumerates many old masters, including 48 drawings by Raphael, wax models by Michelangelo and the manuscript journal kept by Rubens in Italy. Boulle attended every sale of drawings and engravings.〔 Th. H. Lunsingh-Scheurleer, "Parmigianino and Boulle", ''The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs'' 68 No. 399 (June 1936), pp. 286-288.〕 He had borrowed at high interest to pay for his purchases, and when the next sale took place, fresh expedients were devised for obtaining more money. Collecting was to Boulle a mania of which, said his friend Mariette, it was impossible to cure him. He died in 1732, full of fame, years and debts.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「André Charles Boulle」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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