Pierre Chareau

In 1928, Pierre Chareau designed the interior of the Grand Hôtel of Tours for Paul Bernheim at the recommendation of his uncles Emile and Edmond Bernheim, who had commissioned Chareau two years earlier to design the interior of the clubhouse at Beauvallon Golf Club near Saint-Tropez. For this project, Chareau collaborated with the Dutch architect Bernard Bijvoet, who would prove instrumental in the development of his pioneering design ideology where furniture, interior design and architecture were thought of as a whole and conceived of through the lens of functionalism. Chareau was unique in rejecting mass production while embracing modern technology and materials, and finding success in integrating modern materials with fine craftsmanship in line with the traditions of the French decorative arts.

The present pair of armchairs were original to the hotel and exemplify Chareau’s balanced juxtaposition of elegance and modern materials and form. The chairs are upholstered and outlined at the bottom and front edges in rich walnut shaped with soft yet dramatic angular form. Each chair rests on four flattened spherical feet of nickel-plated bronze. Much like the grand scheme of the hotel interior, the chairs emulate a sense of luxury while embodying a modernity of lines and form. As a modernist, Chareau designed the hotel around the function and utility of each room. He employed avant-garde techniques to divide and connect rooms such as the adjustable panels installed between the bar and smoking room. In addition to refined materials such as alabaster, walnut and fine textiles, Chareau integrated wrought iron, opaque glass and rubber flooring.

The present pair of armchairs mark a unique opportunity to acquire objects from one of Chareau’s earliest commissions, which was fundamental in his development of a radical and innovative design ideology that distinguished him from other modernists of the interwar period.