One of the most arresting entrances imagined was created by Pierre Delbee of JANSEN, in the 1960s. Finding the perfect balance in making a grand entrance dramatic, without staging, is a fine one. This hall, as it is referred to in The Best of European Decoration, satisfies.
Five ebony doors, one, seen above were designed by Delbee in ivory, silver, copper and brass. The grey & blue walls are done in Louis XV-style paneling -the ceiling as well, further defining the space. Black lacquer cupboards, c.1760, fit jewel box like into the corners and are decorated in carved & gilded wood. The classic leopard fabric, likely a velvet, adorns two benches-note the mismatched attitude of the pair.
Nowhere was Jansen's craft exhibited more brilliantly. The Delbee creation reads beautifully in these color photographs- from the book JANSEN.
As the entry expands we see a much larger space-& its many incarnations. The Entry-now a Dining Room- is hardly recognizable-were it not for the ebony and ivory veneered doors.
Recreating such a space- impossible. There is a studied singularity about the room. It would seem set-like & the genius of the room would be lost. The best take aways from Delbee are the jewel box impact: the paneled walls, varying color to highlight the moldings, symmetry, punctuating the grey with all the black that can be found, working the ceiling in the same way as the walls & an unhesitating hand.
sources and photographs sited in the text & here, JANSEN and The Best in European Decoration.
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