Commode (Chest of Drawers)
The cabinetmaker Vandercruse Lacroix (also known as RVLC) regularly collaborated with marchands merciers, especially Simon-Philippe Poirier. After taking over his father's workshop, RVLC established himself in the Faubourg Saint-Antoine in Paris, where he supplied furniture to the royal family, as well as to high-profile figures such as the Duke of Orléans and Madame du Barry, who commissioned several pieces for her pavilion at Louveciennes. This commode was made for the bedroom of Madame Victoire (1733–1799), one of Louis XV's eight daughters, at the Château de Compiègne. The now-faded decoration in the marquetry originally echoed the atmosphere of the room with its floral curtains, seating covers, and bed hangings. The piece was delivered in 1763 by cabinetmaker Joubert, who often subcontracted his work.
Source: The Frick Collection: Essential Guide, 2024
Madame Victoire de France, Compiègne. Louis XVI, Compiègne. Lady Annette Mary de Trafford, Irwell Bank, Eccles, Lancashire. Duveen. Frick, 1915.
Source: Furniture in The Frick Collection: Italian and French Renaissance, French 18th and 19th Centuries (Pt. I). Volume V. New York: The Frick Collection, 1992.
