Cabinet (room)
**Historical Evolution and Significance of Private Rooms:**
– Late Medieval period saw the emergence of private rooms like the solar, cabinet, and studiolo.
– Studiolo originated in the Quattrocento for increased privacy and served as rooms for reading and meditation.
– Cabinets were used for various purposes such as study, office, or sitting room and were personalized with heraldry and portraits.
– Cabinets were often adjacent to bedchambers for convenience and were furnished with books, art, and Latin mottos.
– The term cabinet extended to refer to the contents of the cabinet, evolving from a piece of furniture to a private room.
**Functional and Design Characteristics of Private Rooms:**
– Cabinets, closets, studioli, and offices served as private rooms for study, retreat, or office.
– Privacy from servants, household members, and visitors was a key feature of these rooms.
– Small rooms like cabinets were more comfortable to heat in winter and were often for single individuals.
– Studioli were inlaid with simulated shelves and cabinets for books and instruments, while cabinets were often adorned with rich textiles and pictures.
– Cabinets were used to display collections and curiosities, with examples found in baroque palaces and country houses.
**Political and Administrative Role of Cabinets:**
– Cabinet evolved in French Baroque architecture and became the principal executive group of the British government.
– Phrase ‘cabinet counsel’ dates back to the late 16th century, with Charles I formalizing a Cabinet Council in 1625.
– Cabinets were male equivalents of boudoirs and were used as private intimate spaces for wealthy or aristocratic individuals.
– London houses featured genteel baroque arrangements including bedchambers, closets, and a common sitting room.
– Versailles had a large assortment of cabinets en filade for the king, serving as the male equivalent of a boudoir.
**Notable Examples and Features of Private Rooms:**
– Francesco I de Medici’s elaborate Studiolo in Palazzo Vecchio, Florence, provided privacy for reading and meditation.
– Robert Burton wrote ‘The Anatomie of Melancholy’ in his closet in Elizabethan England.
– The grandest studiolo was the Camerino of Alfonso d’Este with mythological paintings.
– Examples of cabinets include the private cabinet at Vaux-le-Vicomte and Louis XIV’s Grand Cabinet at Versailles.
– Rare surviving closets, like the one at Ham House in Richmond, London, showcase historical private retreats.
**Literary and Artistic References to Private Rooms:**
– Closet drama is a literary work not intended for public presentation, with notable works like Burton’s ‘The Anatomie of Melancholy.’
– The term cabinet has historical references dating back to the 16th century and has been analyzed in various historical texts.
– References to cabinets can be found in letters and essays from notable figures, with cabinets admired for their magnificence in Paris.
– Books like Jaffé’s ‘Titian’ and Thornton’s ‘The Scholar in His Study’ provide insights into the use of cabinets in art and ownership in Renaissance Italy.
– Additional references and resources are available for those interested in exploring the history and significance of cabinets in different contexts.
A cabinet (also known by other terms) was a private room in the houses and palaces of early modern Europe serving as a study or retreat, usually for a man. The cabinet would be furnished with books and works of art, and sited adjacent to his bedchamber, the equivalent of the Italian Renaissance studiolo. In the Late Medieval period, such newly perceived requirements for privacy had been served by the solar of the English gentry house, and a similar, less secular purpose had been served by a private oratory.
Such a room might be used as a study or office, or just a sitting room. Heating the main rooms in large palaces or mansions in the winter was difficult, and small rooms were more comfortable. They also offered more privacy from servants, other household members, and visitors. Typically such a room would be for the use of a single individual, so that a house might have at least two (his and hers) and often more. Names varied: cabinet, closet, study (from the Italian studiolo), office, and a range of more specifically female equivalents, such as a boudoir.