Upholstered chaise longue

Loungers are furniture used for resting during the day. They have been known since ancient times. In modern Europe, loungers appeared in the 17th century, became firmly established in the interiors of European palaces in the 18th century, became the most fashionable, and at the same time commonplace, in the 19th century, and are still used throughout the world today. Depending on the time of their creation and the prevailing fashion, they took different shapes and were given different names. Firstly, they were known as a day beds or rest beds in English and in French as lits du jour or lits de repose; with the overpowering influence of French fashion, they eventually established themselves as chaises longues (long chairs), commonly referred to in Polish as ‘szezlongi’. From the 18th century onwards, chaises longues in various varieties became luxury furniture, used in ladies’ boudoirs, salons, drawing rooms and suites. Comfortable, upholstered, richly decorated – they were often one of the elements of a furniture set, forming a stylistic whole with the interior or flat for which they were intended. The popularity of this piece of furniture is evidenced by the fact that many famous ladies were portrayed on chaises longues, half-lying, often in contemplation or with a book in their hand. Teresa Bagińska-Żurawska https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9243-3967