Jean Prouvé, born in 1901 in Paris, believed that “ There is no difference between building a piece of furniture and a home”.
Jean Prouvé (1901-1984)
Brise-soleil
Famous on a international level, for sixty years he has been craftsman, engineer, furniture editor and teacher, mainly in Nancy in eastern France. He produced furniture for private and collective spaces, but also construction elements, custom-made homes and precast homes. His genius was rewarded many times for instance by the 1951 Milano Triennale prize and by the 1963 International Union of Architects award.
Charlotte Perriand (1903-1999) et Jean Prouvé (1901-1984)
Brazza BH3, placard
Prouvé grew in an artistic family, linked to the Ecole de Nancy, which passed him down a philosophy of mixing art with industry and of sharing beauty to as many as possible. That may have been the source of inspiration of his style which always combined elegance and economy of means. He began in Nancy an apprenticeship in a sculpture-ironwork workshop from 1917 to 1921. Prouvé opened in 1921 his own art ironwork workshop where he designed lamps, ceiling lights and banisters.
Jean Prouvé (1901-1984)
Faber, lits, modèle n°17 puis n°101
Sold 3 900 € each
By creating in Nancy his company Les Ateliers Jean Prouvé he overcame the limits of ironwork and began shaping pieces of aluminium and steel. Public sector and collective spaces became a preferred domain of Prouvé. The architect-designer worked for the health and education sectors, private and public administration offices. As soon as 1936 he offered a catalogue of series models such as the “Faber” beds, and made-to-order desks and beds for the Martel de Janville sanatorium in the French Alps.
Lot 46 - Jean Prouvé (1901-1984)
Bureau suspendu et chaise
In 1947 in order to go from mid scale to industrial scale Prouvé relocated and extended his workshop in Maxéville near Nancy. There the designer made a clever auditorium bench and the imposing “Cachan” wardrobe which furnished in 1955 the CNET technical school in Cachan. This wardrobe was artfully built into the forced-air heating system of this collective space. Les Ateliers Jean Prouvé collaborated with other prominent designers and architect such as Charlotte Perriand and Le Corbusier. The “Brazza BH3” cupboard was designed with Perriand for the housing unit of Air France airlines in Brazzaville in 1952. In 1956 Prouvé left Les Ateliers, after having lost the majority stake in the thriving company he founded. He then became head of the technical office of the construction company CIMT in Paris until 1968 where he worked for the UNESCO and Orly airport. He also gave lectures at CNAM university until 1971 and was an independent consultant from 1968 to 1984 when he passed away.
Lot 48 - Jean Prouvé (1901-1984)
Banquette d'amphithéâtre
