GAUDREAUS, Antoine-Robert
French cabinetmaker. He became a maître-ébéniste c. 1710 and from 1724 became the main supplier to the Garde Meuble de la Couronne. From 1726 until his death, first as Ébéniste de la Reine and then as Ébéniste du Roi, he exercised a virtual monopoly over commissions intended for royal residences, most of which he subcontracted.
His strong, personal style is evident in his work, although only about six pieces remain unmodified. Apart from a medal-cabinet (1738; Versailles, Château), on which he collaborated and obviously submitted to the designs of the Slodtz brothers, two of his works are very important. The style of a marquetry commode (1739; London, Wallace Collection) with bronze mounts by Jacques Caffiéri suggests that he had escaped the Slodtzs’ supervision. It follows the dictates of the Louis XV style, employing asymmetrical designs and exaggerated curves and Rococo decoration. The exuberance of this piece was followed by a return to balanced forms, as shown in a lacquered commode (1744; Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale), which could be referred to as being in a symmetrical Louis XV style. Gaudreaus excluded from it the traditional frames that follow the contours of the drawers and the doors, their absence reflecting a strong desire for purity. Gaudreaus transformed aesthetic expression into a dialogue between bronze and lacquer. A third veneered commode (1740-45; London, Wallace Collection), made for Monsieur de Selle, bears witness to Gaudreaus’s boldness with both material and form.
His widow and his son, François-Antoine Gaudreaus (c. 1715-53), also Ébéniste du Roi, continued the workshop until 1751.
