Étienne Avril (1748-1791) was a French furniture designer, or

ébéniste ''Ébéniste'' () is a loanword (from French) for a cabinet-maker, particularly one who works in ebony. Etymology and ambiguities As opposed to ''ébéniste'', the term ''menuisier'' denotes a woodcarver or chairmaker in French. The English equiv ...

Early life

Étienne Avril was born in 1748. He had two brothers, both of whom also became ébénistes.

Career

As an ébéniste, Avril mostly designed rectangular

mahogany Mahogany is a straight- grained, reddish-brown timber of three tropical hardwood species of the genus '' Swietenia'', indigenous to the AmericasBridgewater, Samuel (2012). ''A Natural History of Belize: Inside the Maya Forest''. Austin: Un ...

panels, framed by bronze. He became a maître-ébéniste, or master furniture designer, in 1774. A year later, in 1775, he began adding porcelain to the design of his furniture. For example, he added two nymphs made of bisque to a wardrobe he designed for the

Palace of Fontainebleau Palace of Fontainebleau (; ) or Château de Fontainebleau, located southeast of the center of Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of mo ...

. Other notable pieces of furniture include a

marquetry Marquetry (also spelled as marqueterie; from the French ''marqueter'', to variegate) is the art and craft of applying pieces of veneer to a structure to form decorative patterns, designs or pictures. The technique may be applied to case furn ...

desk with a glass door for the Mirault family, and a mahogany

guéridon A guéridon is a small table supported by one or more columns, or sculptural human or mythological figures, often with a circular top. The guéridon originated in France towards the middle of the 17th century. The supports for early guéridons wer ...

s with leg made of gilded bronze for the Sené family.

Personal life and death

Avril resided on the rue de Charenton in the Faubourg Saint-Antoine of Paris. He died on 24 June 1791.

References

1748 births 1791 deaths Furniture designers from Paris {{France-artist-stub