Cité armchair by Jean Prouvé, Edition Tecta, 1980's

Very nice copy of the quoted armchair of Jean Prouvé published by Tecta in the 80s. Black lacquered structure, beautiful black leather and blue head support cushion. Jean Prouvé, born in 1901 in Paris, France, apprenticed as a goldsmith with Emile Robert, Enghien and Szabo in Paris. In 1924 he created his own workshop in Nancy and produced in 1925 the first folded sheet steel furniture. In 1930, he co-founded the artists' association "Union des Artistes Modernes" (U.A.M.), in 1931 he created "Les Ateliers Jean Prouvé". This is where many pieces of furniture were created in the 30s as well as the first prefabricated architectural elements, such as for the "Maison du Peuple" in Clichy (in collaboration with the architects Beaudoin and Lods), which caused a great sensation with its steel and glass structure. During the war, due to the scarcity of steel, furniture was made of wood, and simple houses made of prefabricated elements were designed. From 1940, Jean Prouvé is a member of the Resistance and after the liberation of Nancy, having become mayor of the city, he creates and builds houses for the homeless. In 1947, Jean Prouvé set up the "Maxéville" factory where 200 employees produced prefabricated houses and schools on 25,000 m2 in addition to furniture. To be able to respond to the growing need, a department entirely devoted to furniture was created in 1949. Steph Simon is in charge of exclusive marketing. Following disagreements with the main shareholder, Jean Prouvé left the company in 1953, in 1954 he designed and built his own house. From 1957 to 1968 he headed the construction office of the Compagnie Industrielle de Matériel de Transport (CIMT) in Paris, and from 1968 to 1984 he headed an office in Paris as an independent consulting architect. From 1957 to 1970 he held a professorship at the Conservatoire des Arts et Métiers (CNAM). In 1971 he chaired the jury of the competition for the construction of the Centre Pompidou in Paris and defended the project of Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers. From 1980 to 1984, Jean Prouvé continued to develop and improve the design of his furniture. He died in Nancy in 1984. In numerous works, Jean Prouvé has succeeded in combining his expectations from the point of view of functionality, material suitability and economy with the complex requirements of series production. In 2002 Vitra began to redistribute the creations of the major manufacturer in the form of reissues in close collaboration with the Prouvé family.

Ref. : 3X549P7G