Eugène Printz - Important Design London Wednesday, April 25, 2018 | Phillips

Important Design

London Auction 26 April 2018

  • Provenance

    Galerie Jacques de Vos, Paris
    Acquired from the above by the present owner

  • Literature

    Jean Gallotti, 'XXVe Salon des Artistes Décorateurs: Les Ensembles', Art et Décoration, June 1935, p. 215
    Bernard Champigneulle, 'Entretien avec Eugène Printz', Mobilier et Décoration, January 1936, pp. 169, 174
    René Jean, 'Eugène Printz et son atelier', Mobilier et Décoration, May 1946, pp. 8, 12, 13
    Guy Bujon and Jean-Jacques Dutko, E. Printz, Paris, 1986, pp. 200, 202, 222-223

  • Catalogue Essay

    Eugène Printz exhibited the present model armchair in 1934 and 1935 as part of an office set at the Salon des Artistes Décorateurs. The armchairs feature curved armrests with bas-relief carving, extending into the front legs and terminating with a brass detail. The design exemplifies Printz’s desire to reconcile Art Deco refinement with the modernist ideal to design furniture in line with contemporary living.

    Printz devoted himself to aesthetic and technical perfection in the realisation of his furniture designs. In a 1934 interview published in the authoritative periodical Mobilier et Décoration, he stated: ‘I am horrified at anything mediocre. Build a box if you have to, but a perfectly-made one’. (Bernard Champigneulle, ‘Avons-nous un style d’ameublement?’, Mobilier et Décoration, January 1934, p. 157) Having trained in eighteenth-century French cabinetmaking, Printz developed a rigorous approach to design, which he retained despite the economic difficulties experienced in France during the 1930s.

41

Eugène Printz

Pair of armchairs

1930s
Oak, fabric, brass.
Each: 90 x 75 x 91 cm (35 3/8 x 29 1/2 x 35 7/8 in.)

Estimate
£28,000 - 34,000 

Sold for £35,000

Contact Specialist
Madalena Horta e Costa
Head of Sale
+44 20 7318 4019

Important Design

London Auction 26 April 2018