The design of an English chair is different from that of a French seat, for the one is made to serve a masculine taste, and the other to serve its decidedly more feminine counterpart. In a French chaise or fauteuil, one observes the influence of Madame de Pompadour, via the graceful curves of a velvet-covered duchesse, in the lines of an elegant bergere; the softening of the Louis Quinze line, the emergence of the cabriole, that leaps like a goat on the floor. The hand of the English master, Chippendale, is rigourous and bold, it is an overt, ambitious gesture commanding your attention. The cabriole leg is highlighted with the ball & claw foot, so typical of the English style, the
strong, defined grasp of structure and form; it is the opposite of the French. The marriage of the French style, to that of the English, is like the marriage of a woman and a man, and thus are their parts defined. The woman is graceful and pleasing, the man firm and robust. Together, they create a world of beauty.
An excerpt from Hills Like White Elephants by Sanjay R Singhal, RA