List of European styles from the early middle ages to 1900

• - French Rulers
• - French Royal Family Tree
• - France Historical Dates
• - Style Chart
• - Reference of Styles
• - Glossary

List of European styles from the early middle ages to 1900. France had the steadiest of monarchies during this period, the individual monarchs consistently exerting their influence on fashion more than those of other European countries. The style dates are approximate.

Style: Medieval 1050-1300
French Monarch:
Peculiarities: Simple forms with polychrome decoration, 'romanesque' arches.

Style: Gothic 1200-1500
French Monarch:
Peculiarities: Lancet arches, crocheted finials, elaborate pierced carving

Style: Renaissance 1500-1600
French Monarch: Francois I (1483-1547) ­ Henri II (1547-1589) ­ Henri III (1589-1640)
Peculiarities: Fine and delicate intarsia. Lightness, scrolling foliage, columns

Style: Mannerism 1550-1650
French Monarch: Louis XIII (1640-1643)
Peculiarities: Slight heaviness starting, profuse carving of figures and beasts

Style: Baroque 1650-1720
French Monarch: Louis XIV (1643-1715) (Effectively reigned from 1661)
Peculiarities: Massive architectural forms, full relief carving of figures and swags of flowers

Style: Regence 1710-1730
French Monarch: Philippe d'Orleans as Regent (1715-1724)
Peculiarities: Slight lightening of form with massive mounts. The cabriole leg appears

Style: Rococo 1725-1750
French Monarch: Louis XV (1715-1774)
Peculiarities: 'c' scrolls, very light fanciful carving of foliage, no straight lines

Style: Transitional 1750-1770
French Monarch: Louis XV / XVI
Peculiarities: Reaction against excesses of rococo, restraint, mixture of Louis XV features and anticipation of Louis XVI.

Style: Neo-classical 1770-1790
French Monarch: Louis XVI (1774-1789)
Peculiarities: Tapering legs and classical motifs, revival of Louis XIV side cabinet

Style: Directoire 1790-1800
French Monarch: The Directorate (1789-1799)
Peculiarities: Elegant simplicity, Etruscan decoration, evidence of English influence

Style: Consulate 1800-1805
French Monarch: The Consulate (1799-1804)
Peculiarities: Rectangular and architectural forms, plain woods with fine guilloche mounts

Style: Empire 1800-1820
French Monarch: Napoleon (1804-1815)
Peculiarities: Heavy architectural forms, often plain with massive ormolu mounts, masculinity

Style: Restoration 1815-1850
French Monarch: Louis XVIII (1815-1824) ­ Charles X (1824-1830)
Peculiarities: Bois clairs, mass production, seeds of eclecticism, Gothic and rococo revivals

Style: Second Empire 1840-1870
French Monarch: Louis-Philippe (1830-1848)
Peculiarities: Muddled eclectic designs, Renaissance and Louis revivals, exhibition era

Style: Art Nouveau 1885-1910
French Monarch:
Peculiarities: Reaction to mass production and eclectic design, naturalistic and stylized plant forms

Style: Modernism 1895-present day
French Monarch:
Peculiarities: Return to simple pure rectangular forms, fine veneers alongside a return to the 1820-1840 Biedermeier period