Joseph-Marie Revel (clockmaker), Joseph Coteau (enamel decor attributed to, Skeleton clock, detail, circa 1795, Galerie Léage
© Julie Limont
The 18th century—the Age of Enlightenment—was a golden era for the creation of clocks, regulators, and other timepieces with sophisticated mechanisms. Combining the ingenuity of complex systems with cases of remarkable beauty, these objects became the focus of endless refinements.
Jean Moisy (clockmaker), Adrien Dubois (cabinetmaker), Musical cartel clock, equipped with an 18-hammer system, 9 gongs, and 1 cylinder, circa 1750, Galerie Léage
The Enlightenment was an age fascinated by science. Among its many disciplines, timekeeping and its close relative, astronomy, held a privileged place. Horology aroused the curiosity of scholars and enthusiasts alike, who studied and practiced it in their private cabinets. An intellectual art par excellence, it was defined by the clockmaker Ferdinand Berthoud (1727–1807) in his article “Horlogerie” for the Encyclopédie: “to construct a machine (…) according to the laws of motion, using the simplest and most solid means; it is the work of a man of genius.”
Among its most distinguished amateurs, Louis-François de Bourbon, Prince de Conti, stood out for his remarkable collection and inventions. In 1761 he devised a night clock, executed by Pierre III Le Roy (1717–1785) and submitted to the judgment of the Academy of Sciences. The kings of France shared this fascination: Louis XV, and later Louis XVI, both maintained mechanical cabinets in their private apartments at Versailles. They showed great generosity toward their clockmakers, financing their research and creations. The famous clock by Claude-Siméon Passemant (1702−1769), delivered to Choisy in 1753, and the Creation of the World clock conceived by the same Passemant a year later for Trianon, rank among the most beautiful and complex timepieces of the 18th century.
Claude-Siméon Passemant (conceived by), Joseph Léonard Roque (clockmaker), Clock “of the Creation of the World, 1754, Versailles, Châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon (inv. VMB 1036.1)© Musée du Louvre, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / Thierry Ollivier
At the time, the clockmaker occupied a position at the crossroads between craftsman and scholar. In the same Encyclopédie article, Berthoud described him as an “architect-mechanic.” The art of horology encompassed a wide range of professions—from the designer of mechanisms, the “architect” mentioned by Berthoud, to the spring-maker, case assembler, and enameller. The foremost among them generally belonged to the educated middle class, and some enjoyed considerable wealth. Scientists and collectors, they asserted the intellectual nature of their art, setting it apart from manual labor. Deeply involved in the scientific debates of their time, Berthoud published numerous treatises; Jean Romilly (1714−1796) was a close friend of Jean-Jacques Rousseau; and Jean-Baptiste Le Roy (1720−1800) maintained an extensive correspondence with the American Benjamin Franklin. Proud of their inventions, these horologists signed the dials of their creations—making them among the very few 18th-century craftsmen whose names appeared visibly on their works.
Robert Osmond (bronzemaker), Manufacture de Sèvres, Clock, circa 1770, Paris, Musée du Louvre (inv. OA 11308)
© 2012 Musée du Louvre, Dist. GrandPalaisRmn / Thierry Ollivier
This intellectual enthusiasm for mechanical ingenuity stemmed from the invention of the pendulum system by the Dutchman Christiaan Huygens (1629–1695) around 1656. Quickly adopted by clockmakers, it allowed for a level of precision previously unimaginable, and made possible the addition of minute and, later, second hands. Invited by Colbert to join the Academy of Sciences in Paris, Huygens continued to refine his system, stimulating Parisian creativity. Movements displayed ever-increasing precision and sophistication throughout the 18th century. The number of hands, dials, and complications multiplied, to the wonder of collectors. This fascination reached its height at the end of the century with the invention of skeleton clocks. Devoid of outer cases, they revealed the delicate workings of their mechanisms from every angle. The finest examples—such as the one in our collection—feature several dials and vividly colored enamel decoration.
Joseph-Marie Revel (clockmaker), Joseph Coteau (enamel decor attributed to, Skeleton clock, circa 1795, Galerie Léage© Julie Limont
Clockmakers also developed astronomical measuring systems, calculating the phases of the moon and the movement of the planets. Passemant’s clock, for example, predicts these for 10,000 years and still functions perfectly today. The frantic race to map the oceans also stimulated inventions by clockmakers, who developed clocks whose accuracy finally made it possible to calculate longitudes.
Clocks could also include particularly sophisticated striking mechanisms or musical devices capable of playing one or several tunes. Others even concealed automata. A particularly elaborate example, now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, combines all of these features. Documented in the workshop of Jean-Baptiste-André Furet (c.1720–1807) in 1784, it depicts an African princess whose one earring reveals the time in her eyes, while the other activates a musical organ hidden in the base.
Jean-Baptiste-André Furet, Clock with musical movement, circa 1784, New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art (inv. 58.75.127)
Pursuing ever greater refinement, 18th-century clockmakers elevated their craft to the highest level. They delighted enlightened amateurs—some of whom even joined in the pursuit themselves, becoming clockmakers in their own right.
Bibliography:
Jean-Dominique Augarde, Les Ouvriers du Temps, Antiquorum Éditions, 1996
PIerre Kjellberg, Encyclopédie de la Pendule Française du Moyen Âge au XXe siècle, Les Éditions de l’Amateur, 1997
Clare Vincent, Jan Hendrik Leopold, European Clocks and Watches in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2015
