19th century wallpapers

A French heritage brand, Le Grand Siècle strives to introduce wallpapers that illustrate the golden age of French decorative arts. To do this, we explore the collections and archives of the largest French museums and carry out valuable digital restoration work. We thus revive historical motifs, reinvented to enhance our modern interiors.

In France, the 19th century was a crucial period for decorative arts, in particular for painted mural decors which experienced very strong development. We invite you to discover the iconic patterns of this century of emulation through a selection of carefully restored and handcrafted 19th century wallpapers.

Discover the golden age of 19th century wallpaper thanks to Le Grand Siècle

From the end of the 18th century, France stood out in Europe with a vast production of wallpaper. It notably surpassed England, then the leading exporting country and a long-undisputed reference in this field of Decorative Arts.

If France enjoyed such influence it is because it had a pool of ornamentalists and designers capable of offering wallpapers at the cutting edge of fashion. 19th century wallpaper can be recognized by its intense colors and sophisticated designs which illustrate the gentle way of life typical of French Decorative Arts. This century also gave rise to a vast production of panoramics that were manufactured only in France before being exported throughout the world.

If the 19th century marked the golden age of wallpaper thanks to the production of spectacular shapes such as iridescent wallpaper or panoramic wallpaper, the simplest decors also show to what extent French artisans were able to master at the same time technique, printing processes and trends.

The decorative world of 19th century wallpaper  

19th century wallpaper is therefore characterized by the production of large panoramic decors, but also by the appearance of repetitive patterns and inventions such as embossing, gilding and even satin finishing. Full mastery of techniques allowed manufacturers to perfectly render the profusion of a flower garden while skillfully imitating fabrics like Lyon silk.

The 19th century wallpapers that we have carefully restored perfectly illustrate the dynamics at play in the world of French decorative arts. You will find shimmering colors and rich and dense plant patterns, designs imbued with softness and poetry like the Anvers Blue clouds wallpaper, but also the emblematic stripes of the Réveillon, Jacquemart & Bénard and or even Dubuisson which recall the wallcoverings of the residence of Joséphine de Beauharnais.

All the wallpapers that we invite you to discover have been meticulously restored digitally: Le Grand Siècle thus breathes new life and modernity into the motifs which undoubtedly helped found the French golden age of decorative arts. For each decor, you will find mention of the origins, the date of creation and historical anecdotes which make your chosen wallpaper unique.