Neoclassicism and the Gustavian style
The excavations at Herculaneum and Pompeii offered a new ideal: straight lines, antique ornament and a simplicity meant to be rational and virtuous.
Around 1760 many grew tired of the Rococo's curves. The excavations of the Roman towns of Herculaneum and Pompeii, begun in 1738 and 1748, gave a new picture of antiquity – not just temples and statues but everyday objects, wall paintings and furniture. Architects and designers began to copy and interpret them.
Furniture got straight, tapering, fluted legs, rectangular or oval backs and ornaments such as laurel wreaths, beading, urns and Greek keys. In France the style is called Louis XVI after the king; in England it is associated with the architect Robert Adam and furniture designers such as Hepplewhite and Sheraton.
In Sweden Gustav III brought the taste home from Paris, and the Gustavian style became the Swedish version: furniture painted light grey and white, oval backs and simple yet elegant forms. At the same time Josiah Wedgwood in England turned neoclassicism into an industrial product, with earthenware made in a factory and sold through catalogues.