Red Room
I had my G11 with me and no tripod, so I placed my camera for a HDR on a table. This was a +1, -1 and 0 bracket....not optimal, but it does give you a crisp view of some of the features of this wonderful and historic room. The white balance is difficult under natural and tungsten light and where the table was for the best view. What a treat it would be to have my 5D, Mark II, a tripod and time to really capture the details of these marvelous rooms.
Notice Bo, made from buttons on the table on the right next to the lamp. (www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQgq9Fc1sQo)
Furnished in the Empire style of 1810-30, the Red Room—one of four state reception rooms in the White House—contains several pieces of furniture from the New York workshop of the French-born cabinetmaker Charles-Honore Lannuier.
This room is about 28 feet by 22 1/2 feet. The elegance of the Red Room furniture derives from a combination of richly carved and finished woods with ormolu mounts (decorative hardware made of gilded bronze) in characteristic designs such as dolphins, acanthus leaves, lion's heads, and sphinxes. The furniture displays many motifs similar to those of the French pieces now in the Blue Room. Egyptian motifs were extensively used in French Empire furnishings following Napoleon's 1798-99 campaign in Egypt, and many of these same designs were adopted by cabinetmakers working in New York, Boston, and Philadelphia.
The furniture in the Red Room dates from the years 1810-1830. All the fabrics now in the Red Room were woven in the United States from French Empire designs. The walls are covered by a red twill satin fabric with a gold scroll design in the border.
The furniture, like the American Empire sofa, is upholstered in a silk of the same shade of red. An early 19th-century design inspired the draperies, made of gold satin with red silk valances and handmade gold-and-red fringe. The carpet—of beige, red and gold—is a reproduction of an early 19th-century French Savonnerie carpet in the White House collection; it was made for the room in 1965. The 13-light French Empire chandelier was fashioned from carved and gilded wood in 1805.
History
Benjamin Latrobe's 1803 drawing of the State Floor indicates that the Red Room served as "the President's Antechamber" for the Cabinet Room or President's Library next door (today's State Dining Room), but in the 1801 inventory, it is listed as the "Breakfast Room." Descriptions in contemporary accounts and bills of sale indicate that Monroe purchased furnishings for the Red Room, as well as for the present day Blue Room, in the prevailing Empire style. This style suited Monroe's desire to furnish the house in a manner that he considered appropriate to the dignity of the nation.
Red Room
I had my G11 with me and no tripod, so I placed my camera for a HDR on a table. This was a +1, -1 and 0 bracket....not optimal, but it does give you a crisp view of some of the features of this wonderful and historic room. The white balance is difficult under natural and tungsten light and where the table was for the best view. What a treat it would be to have my 5D, Mark II, a tripod and time to really capture the details of these marvelous rooms.
Notice Bo, made from buttons on the table on the right next to the lamp. (www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQgq9Fc1sQo)
Furnished in the Empire style of 1810-30, the Red Room—one of four state reception rooms in the White House—contains several pieces of furniture from the New York workshop of the French-born cabinetmaker Charles-Honore Lannuier.
This room is about 28 feet by 22 1/2 feet. The elegance of the Red Room furniture derives from a combination of richly carved and finished woods with ormolu mounts (decorative hardware made of gilded bronze) in characteristic designs such as dolphins, acanthus leaves, lion's heads, and sphinxes. The furniture displays many motifs similar to those of the French pieces now in the Blue Room. Egyptian motifs were extensively used in French Empire furnishings following Napoleon's 1798-99 campaign in Egypt, and many of these same designs were adopted by cabinetmakers working in New York, Boston, and Philadelphia.
The furniture in the Red Room dates from the years 1810-1830. All the fabrics now in the Red Room were woven in the United States from French Empire designs. The walls are covered by a red twill satin fabric with a gold scroll design in the border.
The furniture, like the American Empire sofa, is upholstered in a silk of the same shade of red. An early 19th-century design inspired the draperies, made of gold satin with red silk valances and handmade gold-and-red fringe. The carpet—of beige, red and gold—is a reproduction of an early 19th-century French Savonnerie carpet in the White House collection; it was made for the room in 1965. The 13-light French Empire chandelier was fashioned from carved and gilded wood in 1805.
History
Benjamin Latrobe's 1803 drawing of the State Floor indicates that the Red Room served as "the President's Antechamber" for the Cabinet Room or President's Library next door (today's State Dining Room), but in the 1801 inventory, it is listed as the "Breakfast Room." Descriptions in contemporary accounts and bills of sale indicate that Monroe purchased furnishings for the Red Room, as well as for the present day Blue Room, in the prevailing Empire style. This style suited Monroe's desire to furnish the house in a manner that he considered appropriate to the dignity of the nation.