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拍品专文
While the economic crisis of 1929, which officially began with the Wall Street crash in October, shook the world, encouraged the rise of nationalism and led to the Second World War, the luxury sector seemed to benefit from positive dynamics that lasted, at least in part, until 1931. Ruhlmann's memorandum to the French Under-Secretary of State for Fine Arts in 1932, entitled “La Crise dans les industries du commerce et du luxe” (The Crisis in the Trade and Luxury Industries), surprisingly tells us that this was a particularly prosperous period for the sector. He refers to his own company, which noticed “such a comeback in the rise of our figures that we were obliged in 1930-1931 to make our design office work at full capacity, and even to expand our manufacturing workshops.” Private and corporate orders were increasing and work continued until the second half of 1931, before the consequences of the world crisis really made themselves felt. Ruhlmann was then at the peak of his career, observing the evolution of societal and aesthetical changes that confirmed the growing confirmation of a new modernity. In the field of Decorative Arts, this movement led to the split between the Classics and the Moderns at the 19th Salon des Artistes Décorateurs in 1929. The supporters of the Modern movement were denied the possibility of a section dedicated to them within the Salon itself. Furious, they refused to accept this decision, cancelled their participation and founded the Union des Artistes Modernes, which later became the internationally recognised U.A.M.
Ruhlmann witnessed this crisis first hand, as he and his nephew Alfred Porteneuve were the delegated organisers of the 19th Salon, while he himself ironically ¬presented a stand that was as luxurious as it was unexpected. His famous “Studio-Chambre du prince héritier d'un vice-roi des Indes à la Cité Universitaire,” (Studio-Room for the Crown Prince of a Viceroy of India at the Cité Universitaire), designed specifically for the future Maharajah of Indore, Yeshwant Rao Holkar Bahadur. Only 21 years old at the time, the young heir travelled around Europe that same year, discovering and meeting architects, decorators and artists belonging to the Avant-Garde of the 1930s. He was already working on his architectural project: the construction in India of a very modern palace, Manik Bagh (The Ruby Garden), a global work of art that has become legendary.
For his stand, Ruhlmann designed exceptional pieces in black Duco lacquer, for which he abandoned all ideas of traditional cabinet-making and ornamentation in favour of great sobriety, while maintaining high standards of quality, extreme sophistication, the comfort and practicality of his furniture. He sought to enhance pure lines by adopting the elegant simplicity of black, playing on the contrasts created by the different silver-grey ranges of
chromed and nickel-plated bronzes. The most impressive example of this is his large hemispherical desk, which he fitted with a lamp integrated into the desk top and equipped with glass mail trays, a glass writing ensemble, a pivoting wastepaper basket, a telephone and a heated footrest, combining aesthetics and functionality while taking into account the latest technological developments.
Here, Ruhlmann was addressing a modern man in a modern world, without abandoning the elitist character of his creations aimed at a privileged clientele. The critic René Chavance commented in the magazine Art et Décoration that it was “the result of a meticulous, rational study of contemporary needs.”
His strategy proved to be a winning one, as the young crown prince commissioned several pieces of furniture from him, including the majestic hemispherical desk, an armchair, chairs for visitor and the bookcase. But contrary to what Ruhlmann had imagined, the prince opted for Makassar ebony instead of black lacquer. This furniture was made in 1931. It was André Tardieu — a political figure who held several ministerial posts and was president of the Artistes Décorateurs —who purchased the black lacquer desk exhibited on the stand at the Salon des Artistes Décorateurs, earning the model the name “Tardieu” desk.
At the same time, Ruhlmann, who had already felt the need to restructure his own premises in 1928, entrusted the architect Pierre Patout with the project. Work began in June 1929 and continued until the end of 1930, being inaugurated December 12th. The private mansion at 27 Rue de Lisbonne —l'Hôtel du décorateur — was now enlarged and remodelled, bringing together all the functions associated with the interior decorating House: the reception areas, the shop's exhibition rooms, the architects' and designers' workplaces, as well as Ruhlmann's personal office, which occupied the entire facade of he third storey. He wanted it to be more luxurious and formal, representative of his work and his position as one of the leading interior designers of the time. And what better brand image to choose than the exceptional piece he had just created for the future Maharajah of Indore. Thus, he adapted some of the models designed for the 1929 stand, also opting for a Makassar ebony finish. The furniture was completed during 1929. The centerpiece is the exceptional and rare “Tardieu” desk, which we are delighted to present here.
It was Jules Deroubaix, Ruhlmann's loyal and invaluable collaborator at the head of the cabinetmaking workshop, who built Ruhlmann's personal desk, in the image of the most prestigious pieces. As testimony, the discreet Deroubaix stamp at the top of one of the side panels of each of the two cabinets, invisible once the desk was assembled.
In 1931, faced with a sharp increase in activity, Ruhlmann asked him to leave the cabinet-making workshop on Rue d'Ouessant and join him on Rue de Lisbonne, where he was in charge of making the junction between the design offices, which then had no fewer than 16 draughtspersons. He obviously had just enough time to complete the major pieces of furniture he was working on personally, the last of which was a long Makassar ebony bookcase with solid doors, possibly for the Maharajah of Indore.
The first three examples of the “Tardieu” desk are therefore the prototype exhibited at the Salon des Arts Décoratifs in 1929, acquired by André Tardieu, then the two examples in Makassar ebony, for Ruhlmann, in 1929 and for the Maharajah of Indore, in 1931—all with the same fittings.
The sober elegance of the desk's design and its modernity appealed to many of the decorator's clients, who adapted each piece to their needs in a variety of finishes, layouts and dimensions. The Ruhlmann archives list precisely two examples: one for the industrialist Sulzer, in black lacquer with cabinets closed by curtain doors; one in light oak for Paul Rodier's professional office, with a top fitted with letter drawers and an integrated lamp; the one in Makassar ebony with a uniform top for Mr Fricotelle; the one in lacquer with a top with an integrated lamp and no letter drawers for Mr van Beuningen; another in lacquer for Mr Axelson; and the desk ordered by an Argentinean client, Mr Hotschild, which was smaller and had no letter drawers.
The Ruhlmann archives also shows the drawing of a final variant, created in 1933, the year of the designer's death. This is an all-metal version of the hemispherical desk, with a lamp integrated into the desktop, and its armchair. A small-scale production, under the supervision of Alfred Porteneuve, was planned from 1934, in collaboration with Raymond Subes, head of the Borderel company.
To date, only one prototype of the duralumin model has been documented —larger than the production model, but smaller than the original— and without a lamp integrated into the desktop. It was first exhibited by the Anne-Sophie Duval gallery in the 1980s, before reappearing in the Vallois gallery a decade later, which showed it again more recently during the TEFAF New York in 2019.
Ruhlmann's choice of duralumin, both light and very strong as well as malleable, and which had already been used extensively in the aeronautical industry since the 1920s, is further proof of the designer’s interest in the possibilities offered by the new materials so favoured by the Moderns. It gives us a good idea of what his future creations might have been like.
Ruhlmann witnessed this crisis first hand, as he and his nephew Alfred Porteneuve were the delegated organisers of the 19th Salon, while he himself ironically ¬presented a stand that was as luxurious as it was unexpected. His famous “Studio-Chambre du prince héritier d'un vice-roi des Indes à la Cité Universitaire,” (Studio-Room for the Crown Prince of a Viceroy of India at the Cité Universitaire), designed specifically for the future Maharajah of Indore, Yeshwant Rao Holkar Bahadur. Only 21 years old at the time, the young heir travelled around Europe that same year, discovering and meeting architects, decorators and artists belonging to the Avant-Garde of the 1930s. He was already working on his architectural project: the construction in India of a very modern palace, Manik Bagh (The Ruby Garden), a global work of art that has become legendary.
For his stand, Ruhlmann designed exceptional pieces in black Duco lacquer, for which he abandoned all ideas of traditional cabinet-making and ornamentation in favour of great sobriety, while maintaining high standards of quality, extreme sophistication, the comfort and practicality of his furniture. He sought to enhance pure lines by adopting the elegant simplicity of black, playing on the contrasts created by the different silver-grey ranges of
chromed and nickel-plated bronzes. The most impressive example of this is his large hemispherical desk, which he fitted with a lamp integrated into the desk top and equipped with glass mail trays, a glass writing ensemble, a pivoting wastepaper basket, a telephone and a heated footrest, combining aesthetics and functionality while taking into account the latest technological developments.
Here, Ruhlmann was addressing a modern man in a modern world, without abandoning the elitist character of his creations aimed at a privileged clientele. The critic René Chavance commented in the magazine Art et Décoration that it was “the result of a meticulous, rational study of contemporary needs.”
His strategy proved to be a winning one, as the young crown prince commissioned several pieces of furniture from him, including the majestic hemispherical desk, an armchair, chairs for visitor and the bookcase. But contrary to what Ruhlmann had imagined, the prince opted for Makassar ebony instead of black lacquer. This furniture was made in 1931. It was André Tardieu — a political figure who held several ministerial posts and was president of the Artistes Décorateurs —who purchased the black lacquer desk exhibited on the stand at the Salon des Artistes Décorateurs, earning the model the name “Tardieu” desk.
At the same time, Ruhlmann, who had already felt the need to restructure his own premises in 1928, entrusted the architect Pierre Patout with the project. Work began in June 1929 and continued until the end of 1930, being inaugurated December 12th. The private mansion at 27 Rue de Lisbonne —l'Hôtel du décorateur — was now enlarged and remodelled, bringing together all the functions associated with the interior decorating House: the reception areas, the shop's exhibition rooms, the architects' and designers' workplaces, as well as Ruhlmann's personal office, which occupied the entire facade of he third storey. He wanted it to be more luxurious and formal, representative of his work and his position as one of the leading interior designers of the time. And what better brand image to choose than the exceptional piece he had just created for the future Maharajah of Indore. Thus, he adapted some of the models designed for the 1929 stand, also opting for a Makassar ebony finish. The furniture was completed during 1929. The centerpiece is the exceptional and rare “Tardieu” desk, which we are delighted to present here.
It was Jules Deroubaix, Ruhlmann's loyal and invaluable collaborator at the head of the cabinetmaking workshop, who built Ruhlmann's personal desk, in the image of the most prestigious pieces. As testimony, the discreet Deroubaix stamp at the top of one of the side panels of each of the two cabinets, invisible once the desk was assembled.
In 1931, faced with a sharp increase in activity, Ruhlmann asked him to leave the cabinet-making workshop on Rue d'Ouessant and join him on Rue de Lisbonne, where he was in charge of making the junction between the design offices, which then had no fewer than 16 draughtspersons. He obviously had just enough time to complete the major pieces of furniture he was working on personally, the last of which was a long Makassar ebony bookcase with solid doors, possibly for the Maharajah of Indore.
The first three examples of the “Tardieu” desk are therefore the prototype exhibited at the Salon des Arts Décoratifs in 1929, acquired by André Tardieu, then the two examples in Makassar ebony, for Ruhlmann, in 1929 and for the Maharajah of Indore, in 1931—all with the same fittings.
The sober elegance of the desk's design and its modernity appealed to many of the decorator's clients, who adapted each piece to their needs in a variety of finishes, layouts and dimensions. The Ruhlmann archives list precisely two examples: one for the industrialist Sulzer, in black lacquer with cabinets closed by curtain doors; one in light oak for Paul Rodier's professional office, with a top fitted with letter drawers and an integrated lamp; the one in Makassar ebony with a uniform top for Mr Fricotelle; the one in lacquer with a top with an integrated lamp and no letter drawers for Mr van Beuningen; another in lacquer for Mr Axelson; and the desk ordered by an Argentinean client, Mr Hotschild, which was smaller and had no letter drawers.
The Ruhlmann archives also shows the drawing of a final variant, created in 1933, the year of the designer's death. This is an all-metal version of the hemispherical desk, with a lamp integrated into the desktop, and its armchair. A small-scale production, under the supervision of Alfred Porteneuve, was planned from 1934, in collaboration with Raymond Subes, head of the Borderel company.
To date, only one prototype of the duralumin model has been documented —larger than the production model, but smaller than the original— and without a lamp integrated into the desktop. It was first exhibited by the Anne-Sophie Duval gallery in the 1980s, before reappearing in the Vallois gallery a decade later, which showed it again more recently during the TEFAF New York in 2019.
Ruhlmann's choice of duralumin, both light and very strong as well as malleable, and which had already been used extensively in the aeronautical industry since the 1920s, is further proof of the designer’s interest in the possibilities offered by the new materials so favoured by the Moderns. It gives us a good idea of what his future creations might have been like.