Going on view, Wednesday, November 20, 2019 through January 12, 2020 at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art in Hartford, Connecticut, “The Mathematics of Elegance: An Icon of Early Connecticut Furniture” showcases cabinetmaker Eliphalet Chapin who designed exceptional furniture both pleasing to the eye and to the rational mind.

 

The study of classical architecture’s five orders was seen as essential to understanding the perspective and geometric construction, ”the very soul and basis” of the cabinetmaker’s art according to tastemaker Thomas Chippendale.

Even Chapin’s complex pediment and asymmetrical cartouche designs rely on a series of compass points: Reflections of basic geometric principles. Two notable high chests attributed to his workshop demonstrate the classical proportioning and geometric construction as reflected in sophisticated eighteenth-century design.

In 1767, Chapin left East Windsor and resettled in Philadelphia, a flourishing center for the prevailing “modern” Rococo taste, characterized by naturalistic asymmetrical ornamentation.

When Chapin returned to Connecticut, he tailored his sophisticated understanding of proportion, use of the latest construction techniques, and Rococo-inspired designs to his local clientele. Chapin’s work reflects the beauty achieved when skillful craftsmanship meets well-conceived design. The proportions of this high chest are rooted in mathematics related to the Ionic order.

For more happenings and events, see: https://www.thewadsworth.org and Chapin see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eliphalet_Chapin.