The Gustavian period

Gustav III brought French neoclassicism to Sweden, and the Gustavian style became the best-known classic of Swedish design.

After the coup of 1772 Gustav III ruled with culture as a political instrument. He founded the Swedish Academy and the opera, and he took his ideas from Paris. The cabinetmaker Georg Haupt, who had worked in Paris and London, made splendid furniture for the court, and Louis Masreliez painted interiors in the antique style.

The Gustavian chair, with straight, fluted legs and an oval or straight back, was made by chairmakers in Stockholm and in the countryside. The furniture was often painted light grey. The style lived on long after the king's death in 1792.