Jean Prouvé, self-taught metal artist turned architect and urban planner, has been brought back to life by Galerie Patrick Seguin and Vitra Home.
In the 50s, Prouvé was at the forefront of industrial design. 1956: Abbé Pierre called on his lines, simple and elegant, to design La Maison des Jours Meilleurs, installed that same year on the quai Alexandre III in Paris. He’s also one of the lesser known concept artists behind the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy, a popular Parisian concert hall. In short, Prouvé proved that being a prodigy is not a learned skill: it can only be developed in practice. He was formed at the side of his father, Victor Prouvé, a contributor to the art nouveau movement born as a reaction to society’s drift towards growing industrialization.
But the irony of life made Jean one of the initiators of industrial art instead: his furniture is considered as one of the “Geniuses of industrial furnishing”. His Anthony chair incarnates these same ideals. His desire to unite functionality, economy, and mass production, all wrapped up together in oak and steel with purified lines, was a deciding factor in bringing industrial aesthetic to the forefront. Besides driving an entire generation of architects forward, besides giving steel a certain softness, a soul, a charm, Prouvé always kept ergonomics in mind. His Standard chair allows for a perfect distribution of weight, and adapts itself quite nicely to any and every derrière that might grace it. The build of a typical human was adapted to this creation: robustness and sensuality are united in a practical revelation, that gives off a sweet childhood vibe. Created in his atelier in Nancy, France, it remains a cult classic in simplicity and ingenuity.
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