Oeben, Jean-François

▪ French cabinetmaker

born c. 1715, , Germany

died Jan. 21, 1763, Paris, France

      influential French cabinetmaker noted for his outstanding marquetry and for his ingenious mechanical devices.

      Oeben came to France at an unknown date and in 1751 entered the workshop of André-Charles Boulle in the Louvre. He was soon patronized by the king's mistress Mme de Pompadour and in 1754 was appointed ébéniste du roi (“royal cabinetmaker”). Much of his work was done for the royal household. His royal warrant gave him the privilege of a workshop in the Gobelins factory, although he later moved to the Arsenal. His masterpiece, now in the Louvre, is the bureau du roi, a desk for the king that he began in 1760 and was working on at the time of his death; it was finished by his younger associate, Jean-Henri Riesener, who also married his widow.

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