Riesener, Jean Henri [key], 1734–1806, French cabinetmaker, one of the major artists who made important contributions to the formation of the Louis XVI style in France. Born in Germany, he early moved to Paris and joined the Arsenal workshop of J. F. Oeben, with whom he collaborated in the creation of Louis XV's writing desk, finished in 1769, one of the supremely fine achievements of 18th-century cabinetmaking. After Oeben's death (c.1765), Riesener became conductor of the Arsenal workshops and continued the production of sumptuous furniture for the court and fashionable society. Riesener's furniture pieces are distinguished for their architectural lines, finely executed adornments in chiseled bronze, and exquisite marquetries. Examples may be found in the Louvre, Compiègne, Fontainebleau, Windsor, and the Wallace Collection, London.
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