Pierre Gouthière: Virtuoso Gilder at the French Court

Pierre Gouthi re: Virtuoso Gilder at the French Court celebrates the life of Pierre Gouthi re (1732-1813), considered to be one of the best Parisian bronze chasers and gilders of the eighteenth-century. Gouthi re became gilder to Louis XV in 1767, and is credited with inventing a new type of gilding that left a matte finish--dorure au mat--one of the hallmarks of his work. Although incredibly successful in his day, Gouthi re died in relative obscurity and poverty; unlike some of his contemporaries his works never regained popularity after the French Revolution.

The inclusion of detailed entries and plates of forty-nine works positively attributed to Gouthi re, five essays by leading experts that examine Gouthi re's life, career, clientele, and gilding techniques, as well as examples of his work from American, Polish, Portuguese, French, and British collections, ensure that this beautiful volume is an invaluable new resource on Gouthi re. The only other volume on this master was published in 1912, and is now long out of print.

Charlotte Vignon is Curator of Decorative Arts at The Frick Collection, New York. Christian Baulez is an historian of French 18th-century decorative arts and architecture and former Chief Curator at the Château de Versailles. Anne Forray-Carlier is Chief Curator of 17th- and 18th-Century Decorative Arts at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris. Joseph Godla is Chief Conservator at The Frick Collection. Helen Jacobsen is Chief Curator at the Wallace Collection, London. Luisa Penalva is Curator of Gold, Silver, and Jewelry Collections at the Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga, Lisbon. Anna Saratowicz-Dudynska is Curator of Silver and Bronze at the Royal Castle, Warsaw. Emmanuel Sarméo is an independent scholar.