Directoire style

The style uses Neoclassical architectural forms, minimal carving, planar expanses of highly grained veneers, and applied decorative painting.

The Directoire style was primarily established by the architects and designers Charles Percier (1764–1838) and Pier François Léonard Fontaine (1762–1853).

The Directoire style reflected the Revolutionary belief in the values of republican Rome: "The stoic virtues of Republican Rome were upheld as standards not merely for the arts but also for political behaviour and private morality.

Even the chairs in which the committee of Salut Publique sat were made on antique models devised by David....

The main decorative motifs are: classical vases, carved urns, arrows, winged lions, dragons, mermaids, female busts and sphinxes.