Rare 19th Century French Doors With Capriccio Oil Painting and Chinoiserie Verso

Truly a one-of-a-kind set of architecturals, these French doors feature a lovely capriccio oil painting on one side and a lacquered Chinoiserie on the verso. Dating to the 1800s, the wood frames on the front side of the doors (as seen in the main photo) have been painted true white more recently. Raised layers of molding surround a large landscape painting of ochre, brown, and gold. A protruding cornice of rounded molding adorns the frames just below the canvas, above a carved rectangular molding and raised kickplate.

The capriccio (a capriccio is an architectural fantasy painting) depicts a massive, bifurcated round staircase surrounding a large outdoor fountain of Neptune/Poseidon in a courtyard. A smaller fountain is seen in the foreground, with a couchant lion cascading water to the basin below. Various staffage (including three cows drinking from the fountain) are scattered about, with a majority of the figures in the act of or waiting to wash clothes in the fountain’s waters. Beyond the upper railings are massive trees, flush with vibrant, green leaves, interrupted by a large colonnade building.

In stark contrast to the earthy tones of the 63” H x 84 ¾” W capriccio, the verso side has a brilliant red Chinoiserie of cherry blossoms trees and birds. In Chinoiserie, red symbolizes happiness and prosperity; it is a color associated with good luck in Chinese culture. The scene consists of four vertical panels surrounded by a brown frame, with each scene featuring a pair of birds perched or fluttering about the blooming branches. Various fragments of wood and rock embellish the bottom of each panel, accompanied by additional flowers, vegetation, and birds.

At the top of the doors are remnants of a sliding system, indicating that they were either pocket doors or wall-hung sliding doors. Our rare French capriccio and Chinoiserie doors would make excellent doors to a sunroom, living room, or den. When in the closed position, they would be focal points of the room when viewed from either side.