Deux maîtres serruriers toulousains au XVIIIe siècle

Two master ironsmiths in Toulouse in the 18th C. The art of ironworks developed in Toulouse from the 17th C. to the end of the Ancien Regime, particularly because of the good quality of the raw material coming from the Valley of the Ariège. As a political, commercial and religious center, the town then enjoyed a prosperity which was of benefit to the fitting out of churches, mansions and urbanism in general. The author studies the eventful career of two master ironsmiths belonging to two different generations, the achievement of whom corresponded to the taste of well-to-do magistrates and powerful ecclesiastics. The style of the decorations by Bernard Ortet (balcony railings, gates, banisters...) can be associated with the taste for arabesque, characteristic of the rococo. Joseph Bose achieved works very quickly famous outside of Toulouse (railings, banisters) ; his style can be called « eclectic », integrating personal motives to the « Louis XV style » and the more geometric motives fashionable under the reign of Louis XVI ; the development of his work reveals the evolution of the ornemental repertory during the second half of the 18th C.Peloquin-Cavaillé Danielle. Deux maîtres serruriers toulousains au XVIIIe siècle. In: Histoire de l'art, N°9-10, 1990. La maison, la ville. pp. 61-73