On Thursday January 28th, PIASA is holding an auction dedicated to French Design from the 1920s to the 1970s. The auction will be divided into 175 lots and will feature several pieces by the emblematic designer Jean Prouvé.
Self-taught and a genius designer, Jean Prouvé (1901-1984) established himself as a key collaborator for the most famous architects of the 20th century. From the post-war period until the 1970s, the key concepts he developed would play a leading role in many architectural projects.
Born in Paris in 1901, the designer grew up in an artistic family linked to the Ecole de Nancy, where a philosophy aimed at combining art and industry and bringing beauty within everyone's reach reigned. In Nancy, his career, which combines elegance and minimalism of means, began with an apprenticeship in a sculptor and blacksmith's workshop from 1917 to 1921. In 1923, Prouvé opened his ironwork workshop and made lamps, chandeliers and banisters until 1931.
Jean Prouvé (1901-1984)
Table, 'Cristallerie'
Estimate 10000 / 15000 €
By launching his company Les Ateliers Jean Prouvé in Nancy in 1931, he went beyond the limits of ironwork and began to produce steel and aluminium pieces in a pioneering spirit. The public sector and collective buildings became privileged areas. Prouvé works for health, education, state buildings and offices. As early as 1936, it offers a catalogue of mass-produced models such as the "Faber" beds, desks and beds for the Martel de Janville sanatorium in 1936.
"There is no difference between the construction of a piece of furniture and a house"
In 1947, in order to reach an industrial scale, Prouvé moved and enlarged its workshops in Maxéville near Nancy. The designer notably produced an ingenious amphitheatre bench seat and the imposing "Cachan" wardrobe which, in 1955, furnished the restaurant of the Centre National d'Enseignement Technique and was integrated into the forced air heating system of this collective building. The Ateliers collaborate with other designers and architects such as Charlotte Perriand and Le Corbusier. The "Brazza BH3" cupboard was created with Perriand for the Air France housing unit in Brazzaville in 1952.
Jean Prouvé (1901-1984)
Chair n°356, 'Antony'
Estimation : 15000 / 20000 €
In 1956, Prouvé left the Ateliers after losing the majority of his shares. He became head of the design office of the CIMT public works group in Paris until 1968 and was involved in the extension of the Unesco and the Orly airport terminal. He lectured at the CNAM until 1971 and worked as an independent consultant from 1968 to 1984 until his death.
Jean Prouvé (1901-1984)
'Sliding facade panel, 'Onde'
Estimate: 14000 / 18000 €
Internationally recognised, Jean Prouvé worked for more than sixty years as a craftsman, engineer, furniture publisher and teacher. During his career, he created design furniture for private and collective spaces, construction elements, unique and prefabricated houses. The quality of his work has been rewarded many times, such as in 1951 with the Milan Triennial Prize and in 1963 with the International Union of Architects Prize.
