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拍品專文
Starting his career in the early 1930s as a self-taught designer, Jean Royère quickly distinguished himself with a bold and refined aesthetic. His early creations embraced the functionalist spirit of the time, eschewing superfluous ornamentation in favor of pure, elegant forms. Yet even in these formative years, Royère’s distinctive flair was unmistakable: generous proportions and subtle stylization lent his furniture a singular charm and sophistication. While rooted in modernist ideals, Royère's work is celebrated for its unique ability to merge decorative artistry with contemporary design, securing his place as one of the most inventive and sought-after designers of the 20th century.
One of the artist's favored forms was the sinusoid: an undulating line that became the driving force behind his decorative repertoire, giving rise to innovative and accomplished creations. Its regular rhythm forms the base of a table, the headboard of a bed, the shape of a chandelier or the arms of a wall lamp, giving birth to the Bouquet and Liane lines of metal tube lighting, among others. Gradually, Royère adapted the sinusoid first to the ornamentation of his pieces of furniture, then to their design directly, in his free-from low tables for example.
It's with the Eléphanteau armchair that this now three-dimensional ornament finds its first illustration. The armchair's lines are dictated by the sinusoid, which curves to create a volume in space. Its bold shape is akin to that of a sculpture. Presented for the first time at the 1939 Salon des artistes décorateurs, the decorator's work was not warmly received by critics, who described it as “an interior for Martians with bad taste”.
However, a couple years later in 1966, the magazine Art et Décoration devoted an article to the apartment remodeled by Royère for the commissioners of the present lot, praising the refinement of the furniture and decoration. This pair of armchairs was placed in the entrance hall, accompanied by a five-light Liane floor lamp and a delicate Herbier side table in black straw marquetry. The flush red velvet of the armchairs completed the overall harmony formed by the lime-green carpet and the black of the baseboards, mouldings, table and wall lamp. This interior, completed circa 1964-1965, embodied the characteristic aesthetic of Royère: an ornamental scheme in which the elements are conceived in correlation with the balance of the shapes and volumes of the furniture.
One of the artist's favored forms was the sinusoid: an undulating line that became the driving force behind his decorative repertoire, giving rise to innovative and accomplished creations. Its regular rhythm forms the base of a table, the headboard of a bed, the shape of a chandelier or the arms of a wall lamp, giving birth to the Bouquet and Liane lines of metal tube lighting, among others. Gradually, Royère adapted the sinusoid first to the ornamentation of his pieces of furniture, then to their design directly, in his free-from low tables for example.
It's with the Eléphanteau armchair that this now three-dimensional ornament finds its first illustration. The armchair's lines are dictated by the sinusoid, which curves to create a volume in space. Its bold shape is akin to that of a sculpture. Presented for the first time at the 1939 Salon des artistes décorateurs, the decorator's work was not warmly received by critics, who described it as “an interior for Martians with bad taste”.
However, a couple years later in 1966, the magazine Art et Décoration devoted an article to the apartment remodeled by Royère for the commissioners of the present lot, praising the refinement of the furniture and decoration. This pair of armchairs was placed in the entrance hall, accompanied by a five-light Liane floor lamp and a delicate Herbier side table in black straw marquetry. The flush red velvet of the armchairs completed the overall harmony formed by the lime-green carpet and the black of the baseboards, mouldings, table and wall lamp. This interior, completed circa 1964-1965, embodied the characteristic aesthetic of Royère: an ornamental scheme in which the elements are conceived in correlation with the balance of the shapes and volumes of the furniture.