GOUTHIRE, PIERRE

born 1732, Bar-sur-Aube, Fr. died 1813/14, Paris metalworker who was among the most influential French craftsmen in the 18th century. In 1758 Gouthire obtained his diploma as a master gilder and married the widow of his former employer. He collaborated with most of the eminent cabinetmakers and interior designers of his day. The severity of his designs were counterbalanced by the grace of his molding. He invented the process of dull gilding. Gouthire's reputation was established in 1769 with a magnificent jewel chest for the future queen Marie-Antoinette. From then onward he did work at Fontainebleau and for the Duke d'Aumont in Paris, Madame du Barry at Louveciennes, and the Count d'Artois at Bagatelle. Nevertheless he ran into financial difficulties and became bankrupt in 1788. The French Revolution completed his ruin. Gouthire's immense prestige is partly explained by a public sale (1782) in Paris, where Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette acquired many of his works formerly in the collection of the Duke d'Aumont.