This concept of the interior is represented in Georg Friedrich Kersting’s small, private interiors populated by friends and family members, as in his painting “Woman Embroidering.” Kersting and other artists of his time took up the “window picture” popularized by German Romantic painters, notably Kersting’s friend and colleague Caspar David Friedrich. However, rather than the mystical and spiritual aspects of nature extolled in Romanticism, the simple pleasures it provides triumphed in Biedermeier paintings. For Friedrich, the open window was a symbol conveying a sense of yearning for nature and the external world. For Kersting, it reinforced the primacy and comfort of the interior world and the identification of sitters with their domestic surroundings. In “View From the Artist’s Studio in Alservorstadt Toward Dornbach,” the Austrian painter Jakob Alt lovingly portrays his own interior space. An empty chair serves as a surrogate for the physical presence of the artist, and a window provides an unobstructed view of the town.

The decorative arts capture the same brilliant hues and sensuous forms so characteristic of Biedermeier furniture and painting: wall-papers, textiles, porcelain, and glass all display an unexpected exuberance of color and pattern. In some cases, uninterrupted chromatic fields define form; in others, contrast between colors performs the same function. Designers achieved an effect of simplicity in bold, vivid wallpapers by treating the wall as a single decorative whole giving shape to the entire room. Contemporary theories of color perception recommended the use of bold complementary colors—such as blue and orange or red and green—for upholstery and furnishings in order to provide a healthful, stimulating living environment. White and gray were limited to accents and draperies and often functioned as borders for strong colors and patterns in a Biedermeier household.

The modern, pared-down aesthetic of Biedermeier appeals to collectors of 20th-century design and contemporary painting. The demand for Biedermeier furnishings has skyrocketed in recent years, and the best works—which show a love of natural materials, a simplicity of form, and an energetic use of color—are increasingly difficult to find. Such pieces were produced in that first flush of creativity, circa 1805–25, when the artists and craftsmen were full of the spirit of invention. As with so many artistic movements, works produced late in the Biedermeier period are often repetitive, tired, and formulaic in design.

Recent scholarly research has revealed that rather than being a middle-class phenomenon, the Biedermeier rejection of extravagant ornamentation in favor of proportion and utility was actually initiated largely by the aristo­cracy, who wanted to rid their living quarters of the indoctrinated French style. Only later did the emerging bourgeoisie embrace it. Hans Ottomeyer, general director of the Deutsches Historisches Museum in Berlin, has suggested that “the cult of simplicity developed itself as a principle of beauty in contrast to the luxurious style of the close of the 18th century. Whoever could afford to pay for it acquired new decoration in the new style of unpretentiousness.”

With the dawning of Modernism, the allure of unpretentiousness grew even stronger. In furniture, painting, and decorative art, the influence of Biedermeier’s core principles was felt in the European Arts and Crafts movement of the late 19th century and the Wiener Werkstätte of the early 20th, and it continues to inspire designers and artists today.

Iliad Antik, New York
212.935.4382, iliadantik.com

Karl Kemp and Associates, Ltd., New York
212.254.1877, karlkemp.com

Rita Bucheit Ltd., Chicago
312.527.4080, ritabucheit.com

Ritter Antik, New York
212.673.2213, biedermeier-ritter.com