The "Visiteur" was Jean Prouvé’s popular take on the easy chair, originally conceived by Jean Boutemain in 1941 as a comfortable seat for visitors to Solvay Hospital, a major client of Prouvé’s studio. The form was engineered to be low and comfortable for waiting patients and their guests alike. Many versions of the chair were produced over the course of nearly 15 years, most of which were created for residential rather than institutional commissions. Prouvé’s studio produced two versions of this more streamlined, low-slung "Visiteur," the FV 22 and FV 32, with various combinations of seat, backrest, and foot materials; the present lot features a ridged metal seat, oak backrest, and wooden ball feet. The latter of these two updated "Visiteurs" featured an adjustable back and corresponding rear extension of the wooden foot at the base.

The FV 22 and FV 32 models, originally designed in 1948, were christened the “Kangourou” for their low, slanted forms which seemed poised to launch forward like a kangaroo after a March 1951 update to the designs. Production of the “Kangourou” was on a commission basis, and the form does not exist in any catalogues, except for an appearance in a 1949 publicity image. A two-seat version was also produced for special commissions, and Vitra produced a limited edition reissue of the Kangourou for Art Basel in 2022.