{"id":7837,"date":"2021-03-05T13:10:23","date_gmt":"2021-03-05T12:10:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.www.galeriedowntown.com\/power-nap\/"},"modified":"2021-03-05T13:10:23","modified_gmt":"2021-03-05T12:10:23","slug":"power-nap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.galeriedowntown.com\/en\/power-nap\/","title":{"rendered":"Power nap"},"content":{"rendered":"

History of the bed<\/strong><\/p>\n

The bed\u2026 This object has always been essential in the daily life of Man, we spend a third of our lives in it, we wake up there to start our day and we fall asleep in it thinking of what this day has brought to us. But beyond being a crucial object for our physical and mental health, the bed has become a real place of intimacy and passion, where sometimes betrayal, adultery and even bloody crime happen. It is also a place of departure to the dream world, as well as a place where one feels safe to regain strength.<\/p>\n

From ancient Egypt to the present day, the bed has been omnipresent in history. In the 14th century BC, Tutankhamun had five beds built to accompany him in the anteroom of his tomb for an eternal rest. In Greek and Roman civilizations, the bed becomes a mark of social importance and wealth, we pay a lot of attention to its decor, it becomes larger to accommodate several people, and higher to be able to spend more time in it, extending meals and organizing large feasts. In oriental culture and representations, the bed is also the central part of the harem.<\/p>\n

In the Middle Ages, the bed became used by the more popular social classes. It was then, in the 15th century, that we saw the appearance of \u00ab closed beds \u00bb, curious boxes built to ensure a quieter sleep and privacy within large families.<\/p>\n

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Before the French Revolution, the bed becomes a truly sumptuous object full of extravagance, featuring canopies and large tapestries, ornate bedside tables, vases at the four corners of the bed and feather bouquets. The bed becomes a place of reception and lengthy hearings where heads of state announce the key decisions for the future of the monarchy. The privacy of the bedroom is respected so much that during the Revolution it is forbidden to carry out any searches in it between sunset and sunrise!<\/p>\n

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Extrait du film de Sofia Coppola \u00ab Marie Antoinette \u00bb D.R.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The importance given to this piece of furniture is also evident in the painting of the time.<\/p>\n

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Jean Auguste Dominique Ingr\u00e8s, \u00ab La maladie d\u2019Antiochus \u00bb, 1840. Mus\u00e9e Cond\u00e9, Chantilly<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the famous painting \u201cLa maladie d\u2019Antiochus\u201d by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingr\u00e8s (1780-1867), the monumental bed inspired by the architecture of a Greek temple is the center of composition and action, the bed here is a symbol of Antiochus\u2019 illness and impending death caused by his love and guilty passion to his stepmother Stratonice.<\/p>\n

The reign of the bed as an object of luxury and ceremonial furniture ended in the nineteenth century due to industrialization. It gives place to function and comfort. We are starting to distinguish different types of beds according to our desires and needs: daybed, chaise longue, twin beds allowing a couple to sleep cool in summer, metal beds to avoid pests.<\/p>\n

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M\u00e9ridienne, \u00c9poque Charles X, ca. 1825. Collection Mus\u00e9e des Arts D\u00e9coratifs, Paris<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Lit bateau \u00e0 couronne, XIX\u00e8me. D.R.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At the same time in China, we are even witnessing the creation of special beds for opium smokers!<\/p>\n

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Chambre de Napol\u00e9on au Grand Trianon \u00e0 Versailles (Style Empire, XIX\u00e8me). D.R.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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D.R. RMN<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Desouches camp bed, patented in 1812 for officers of the Napoleon Army. What appealed to Napoleon was the practicality and the speed with which the bed could be raised, offering comfort to the officers of the Emperor, former General of the Armies. Little did he know that he would spend his last night on the same bed before dying on the island of Saint Helena.<\/p>\n

But it was during the 20th century that the bed underwent a real transformation of its function and appearance.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Jacques-Emile Ruhlman\u2019s \u00ab Soleil \u00bb bed designed in the 1920s, an extravagant creation composed of neoclassical elements presented in a modernist style using precious Macassar ebony wood.<\/p>\n

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The famous creator of the \u201cLess is More\u201d concept, Mies van der Rohe designed in 1929 a series of iconic furniture designs for the German pavilion of the international exhibition in Barcelona in minimalist style with chromed steel structure, namely the single or double bed freed of any ornament.<\/p>\n

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Gerrit Reitvield\u2019s bed from the artistic movement \u00ab De Stijl \u00bb with its radical geometry and minimal use of details which also places great importance on chromaticism!<\/p>\n

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Another emblematic arrangement of the early modernist era is Maharaja d\u2019Indore\u2019s bedroom for his palace in Manik Bagh. We observe this spectacular bed designed by Louis Sognot and Charlotte Alix, a very refined set using glass and metal, very innovative materials for the time.<\/p>\n

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During the Salon d\u2019Automne in 1929, Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret and Charlotte Perriand presented Interior equipment of the house, a modern apartment with minimalist and functional furniture in tubular metal and glass, including a bedroom opening onto the room where the headboard also serves as a room partition. Another bold idea from Charlotte Perriand, responsible for the interior design of the project, which breaks the sacred and closed intimacy of a room by creating an open and functional space.<\/p>\n

Depending on the context and the location<\/strong>, the appearance and function of the bed have evolved.<\/p>\n

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In 1933, the Paimio sanatorium was built by Alvaar Alto for the treatment of tuberculosis before the vaccine was invented. At the time, the best remedy for the disease was fresh air and the sun. Interior spaces have therefore been designed with this in mind and to meet this need.<\/p>\n

Each piece of furniture was also designed taking into account the specific needs of the patients. Comfortable and hygienic beds that were unlike usual hospital furniture, cold, austere and sterile.<\/p>\n

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Courtesy Galerie Downtown \u2013 Fran\u00e7ois Laffanour<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Echoing the technological development of medical establishments, Jean Prouv\u00e9 and Jules Leleu designed in 1936 a set of furniture for the Martel de Janville sanatorium at the Plateau d\u2019Assy in Haute-Savoie commissioned by the Air Force. Designed entirely in bent, welded and red lacquered steel in harmony with the colors of the exterior architecture, these pieces of furniture are both modern and adapted to the needs of patients for a peaceful healing. Martel de Janville\u2019s bed has a side drawer.<\/p>\n

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During recovery time, the bed can also become a place of work, Marcel Proust having entirely written \u00ab In search of lost time \u00bb in bed, or Henri Matisse drawing on the walls of his room with pieces of charcoal glued to a cane.<\/p>\n