‘Dispensing with all unnecessary pomp’

Sober restraint was also the watchword under Franz II (I) in matters of interior decoration; courtly magnificence was at most found only in his wives’ apartments. Comfort and functionality were paramount – as in the furnishing of middle-class homes.

The interiors of the Viennese Court at this time are documented in several watercolour cycles which reproduce faithfully the décor and furnishing of various private apartments occupied by members of the imperial family. They even included views of the imperial bedrooms and water closets, revealing details of ‘Biedermeier’ life at Court. Later on, similar depictions of interiors were commissioned by the middle classes; domestic life increasingly came to represent a general focus of interest.
Various craftsmen such as cabinet-makers, upholsterers and sculptors supplied the interior decoration for the imperial residences. The imperial Court was a major patron and saw itself as a promoter of domestic craft trades. In contrast to the era of Maria Theresa furniture was no longer designed by architects but by craftsmen, who now had access to better training. Joseph II had made attendance at an academy of art a legal precondition for attaining the title of master craftsman. A ban on the import of French goods in 1786 led to relative autonomy and supported development in the various crafts. From the beginning of the nineteenth century craftsmen also received better training in draughtsmanship – facilitating their ability to draw their own designs was intended to promote autonomy and generate formal variety.

The development of new craft techniques led to the emergence of the Biedermeier style in furniture during the nineteenth century. The style of this new furniture was characterized by simplicity, regular forms, beauty and solidity, free from ‘superfluous’ ornamentation. In Vienna, this taste was mainly developed in aristocratic circles and was adopted only hesitantly by the Court and eventually also by the middle classes.