Beaux Arts Architectural Elements
Beaux Arts furniture included chairs replicating models from the Renaissance and sofas inspired by Louis XIV. These pieces filled high-ceilinged rooms that featured tapestries fit for a medieval castle and were illuminated by crystal chandeliers reminiscent of those in European palaces. Leon Marcotte Company created furnishings for the White House mimicking the style of Louis XVI, while in France, cabinetmaker Louis Majorelle reproduced 18th-century pieces that would influence his later Art Nouveau style.
Students at the École des Beaux-Arts in 19th-century Paris meticulously sketched Roman and Greek art and architecture as part of a curriculum that elevated the classical world. This reverence for history informed the architecture and design being constructed in the French capital and beyond, where columns and pediments were joined with elements referencing the Renaissance and Baroque eras, culminating in grand civic buildings such as the Palais Garnier opera house constructed under Napoleon III.
Beaux Arts style, also known as Classical Eclecticism for its flamboyant mixing of influences, made its way to the United States in the late 19th century through American architects who studied in Paris, like Richard Morris Hunt and Charles Follen McKim. They designed monumental turn-of-the-century buildings like train stations, libraries, museums and mansions that featured soaring entry halls and grand stairways with nearly every surface embellished, from mosaic floors to stained-glass ceilings. The luxurious interiors of these Beaux Arts buildings, which weren’t crowded with objects as in the Victorian era, matched this spirit of opulence and embraced the past.
Find a collection of Beaux Arts decorative objects, lighting, wall decorations and other furniture on 1stDibs.
20th Century French Beaux Arts Architectural Elements
Ceramic
Early 1900s American Antique Beaux Arts Architectural Elements
Iron
Late 19th Century American Antique Beaux Arts Architectural Elements
Terracotta
Early 20th Century American Beaux Arts Architectural Elements
Copper
Early 20th Century American Beaux Arts Architectural Elements
Steel
Early 1900s American Antique Beaux Arts Architectural Elements
Plaster, Paint
Late 19th Century Antique Beaux Arts Architectural Elements
Terracotta
1910s American Vintage Beaux Arts Architectural Elements
Copper
Early 20th Century American Beaux Arts Architectural Elements
Iron
1860s French Antique Beaux Arts Architectural Elements
Mahogany
Early 20th Century American Beaux Arts Architectural Elements
Iron
1930s American Vintage Beaux Arts Architectural Elements
Iron
1880s European Antique Beaux Arts Architectural Elements
Bronze
1910s American Vintage Beaux Arts Architectural Elements
Iron
1940s French Vintage Beaux Arts Architectural Elements
Plaster, Wood
1940s French Vintage Beaux Arts Architectural Elements
Plaster, Wood
Early 1900s French Antique Beaux Arts Architectural Elements
Ormolu
20th Century French Beaux Arts Architectural Elements
Ceramic
Early 20th Century American Beaux Arts Architectural Elements
Steel
1910s American Vintage Beaux Arts Architectural Elements
Copper
19th Century French Antique Beaux Arts Architectural Elements
Oak
18th Century European Antique Beaux Arts Architectural Elements
Iron
Late 19th Century European Antique Beaux Arts Architectural Elements
Brass
Late 20th Century American Beaux Arts Architectural Elements
Aluminum, Steel
19th Century French Antique Beaux Arts Architectural Elements
Iron
19th Century Dutch Antique Beaux Arts Architectural Elements
Ceramic
Mid-19th Century Canadian Antique Beaux Arts Architectural Elements
Walnut
18th Century French Antique Beaux Arts Architectural Elements
Wood, Paint
Mid-20th Century European Beaux Arts Architectural Elements
Glass, Wood
19th Century American Antique Beaux Arts Architectural Elements
Plaster
19th Century Indonesian Antique Beaux Arts Architectural Elements
Wood
19th Century Belgian Antique Beaux Arts Architectural Elements
Plaster
1910s American Vintage Beaux Arts Architectural Elements
Iron
1980s Italian Vintage Beaux Arts Architectural Elements
Cast Stone, Concrete
Early 20th Century American Beaux Arts Architectural Elements
Steel
Late 19th Century American Antique Beaux Arts Architectural Elements
Terracotta
1910s American Vintage Beaux Arts Architectural Elements
Lead
19th Century French Antique Beaux Arts Architectural Elements
Terracotta
1950s American Vintage Beaux Arts Architectural Elements
Concrete
Early 1900s American Antique Beaux Arts Architectural Elements
Bronze
1880s French Antique Beaux Arts Architectural Elements
Limestone
Mid-20th Century French Beaux Arts Architectural Elements
Iron
20th Century French Beaux Arts Architectural Elements
Ceramic
1910s American Vintage Beaux Arts Architectural Elements
Glass