62
Jean Prouvé
"Compas" cafeteria table, model no. 512
- Estimate
- $25,000 - 35,000
$47,500
Lot Details
Painted steel, laminate-covered wood.
circa 1953
28 x 70 7/8 x 31 1/2 in. (71.1 x 180 x 80 cm)
Manufactured by Les Ateliers Jean Prouvé, Nancy, France.
Specialist
Full-Cataloguing
Catalogue Essay
A document from the Ateliers Jean Prouvé (reproduced in Sulzer, vol. 3, p. 269) indicates that the present example, at 1,800 mm, was the longest version of the no. 512 table. The tables could measure from 600 to 1,800 mm long and from 600 to 1,000 mm wide.
Provenance
Literature
Jean Prouvé
French | B. 1901 D. 1984Jean Prouvé believed in design as a vehicle for improvement. His manufactory Les Ateliers Jean Prouvé, located in Nancy, France, produced furniture for schools, factories and municipal projects, both within France and in locations as far flung as the Congo. Though he designed for the masses, pieces such as his "Potence" lamps and "Standard" chairs are among the most iconic fixtures in sophisticated, high-design interiors today. Collectors connect with his utilitarian, austere designs that strip materials down to the bare minimum without compromising on proportion or style.
Prouvé grew up in Nancy, France, the son of Victor Prouvé, an artist and co-founder of the École de Nancy, and Marie Duhamel, a pianist. He apprenticed to master blacksmiths in Paris and opened a small wrought iron forge in Nancy. However it was sheet steel that ultimately captured Prouvé's imagination, and he ingeniously adapted it to furniture, lighting and even pre-fabricated houses, often collaborating with other design luminaries of the period, such as Robert Mallet-Stevens, Le Corbusier and Charlotte Perriand.
Browse ArtistProuvé grew up in Nancy, France, the son of Victor Prouvé, an artist and co-founder of the École de Nancy, and Marie Duhamel, a pianist. He apprenticed to master blacksmiths in Paris and opened a small wrought iron forge in Nancy. However it was sheet steel that ultimately captured Prouvé's imagination, and he ingeniously adapted it to furniture, lighting and even pre-fabricated houses, often collaborating with other design luminaries of the period, such as Robert Mallet-Stevens, Le Corbusier and Charlotte Perriand.