The love of color which is strong in human nature is shown in the welcome which has been given to painted furniture.  If we turn back to review the past we find this same feeling cropping out in the different periods and in the different grades of furniture.  The furniture of the Italian Renaissance was often richly gilded and painted; the carved swags of fruit, arabesques, and the entwined human figures, were painted in natural colors, or some of the important lines of the furniture were picked out with color or gold, or both.  As the influence of the Renaissance spread to France and England, changed by the national temperament of the different countries, we find their furniture often blossoming into color—­not covered by a solid coat of paint but picked out here and there by lines and accenting points.  During the time of Louis XIV everything was ablaze with gold and glory, but later, during the reigns of Louis XV and Louis XVI, a gentler, more refined love of color came uppermost, and the lovely painted furniture was made which has given so much inspiration to our modern work.  The simpler forms of the Louis XV period, and the beautiful furniture of the Louis XVI period, were often painted soft tones of ivory, blue, green, or yellow, and decorated with lovely branches of flowers, birds, and scenery where groups of people by Fragonard and other great painters disported with all their eighteenth century charm.  These decorations were usually painted on reserves of old ivory with the ground color outside of some soft tone.  Martin, the inventor of famous “vernis Martin,” flourished at this time, and the glow of his beautiful amber-colored finish decorated many a piece of furniture from sewing boxes to sedan chairs.  In England the vogue of painted furniture was given impetus by the genius of the Adam Brothers and the beautiful work of Angelica Kaufmann, Cipriani, and Pergolesi.  In both France and England there was at this time the comprehension and appreciation of beauty and good taste combined with a carefree gaiety which made the ineffable charm of the eighteenth century a living thing.  There are some of our modern workmen and painters of furniture who feel this so thoroughly that their work is very fine, but the majority have no knowledge or understanding of the period, and, although they may copy the lovely things of that time, the essence, the true spirit, is lacking.  Cabinet making and painting in those days was a beloved and honored craft; to-day, alas, it is too often a matter of union rules.

Chinese lacquer, while not strictly coming under the head of painted furniture, was another branch of decorated furniture which was in great demand at this time.  The design in gold was done on a black or red or green ground and was beautiful in effect.

[Illustration:  The delicacy of the painting and the graceful proportions of these reproductions are in the true spirit of Adam.]

[Illustration:  A three-chair settee of the Sheraton period, lacquered, and with cane seat.  It would be appropriate for a living-room or hall.]