Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)/Louis Quinze

LOUIS QUINZE (kangz), the name sometimes given to the style of architecture and internal ornamentation prevailing in France during the reign of Louis XV. It is often known under the designation Rococo (q. v.). Internal arrangement and decoration are the main characteristics of the style of this period, and in this direction the best results were doubtless obtained. Large and lofty rooms, as well as scope of display, were indispensable; consequently this style of embellishment was most happily carried out in state apartments, especially in princely castles and palaces and the mansions of the aristocracy. Curved lines superseded all straight lines both in ground plans and in designs, while the most ordinary and characteristic embellishments were volutes, shell-fish and scrolls, groups of fruit, garlands of flowers, hangings, etc.