Regularly presented during design sessions, Max Ingrand's lamps, suspensions, wall lights and other ceiling lights are a faithful testimony to the virtuosity of the man who stands out as one of the leading figures in 20th century French glassmaking.
If we retrace the itinerary that led Max Ingrand to the art of glassmaking, it is necessary to rush into the vastness of the nave of Chartres Cathedral. The bewitching depth of the dark blue of the 2600 m2 of stained glass decorating this jewel of Gothic architecture amazes the young Max Ingrand. The countless visits of this Chartrain born in 1908 will have a considerable influence on the career he will embrace.
He moved to Paris in the mid-1920s and enrolled at the École nationale des arts décoratifs. There he met artists, designers and architects, including Jacques Gruber (1870-1936), himself trained in Nancy and then with the painter Gustave Moreau. Max Ingrand entered the workshop of this master glassmaker in 1927, who was the author of the great glass roof of the Galeries Lafayette in Paris. For four years, he trained in the techniques of glass, stained glass and engraved glass. In 1931, Max Ingrand decided to leave his master to found his own company.
Following a first work on the glass roofs of the Notre-Dame de Paris nave, he was entrusted with several prestigious projects in the immediate post-war period by the Historic Monuments Department. He thus collaborated in the restoration of the cathedrals of Rouen and Beauvais, then a few years later those of Saint-Malo and Strasbourg.
Max Ingrand (1908-1969)
Modèle n°2020 dit ‘Micro’
Result: 19500 €
During the last years of his life, he oriented his career towards interior architecture and lighting and quite logically created luminaires in which glass had to be made of other materials, as can be seen on the "Micro" floor lamp model n°2020 sold for 19,500 euros or on the pair of wall lamps "Model n° 1829" sold in October 2019 for 27,300 euros.
Max Ingrand (1908-1969)
Modèle n° 1829
Result: 27300 €
Perhaps because he remembers his first aesthetic encounter in Chartres, Max Ingrand will often have the opportunity to work with coloured glass such as this 16-light arm ceiling light proposed on October 30, 2019. He found a buyer for 32,500 euros.
It was in 1954 that this famous French master glassmaker and decorator became artistic director of FontanaArte for a decade. He designs true design classics, such as the Fontana table lamp, which is still a success story for the company whose name it bears today.
Max Ingrand (1908-1969)
Dahlia
Result: 32500 €