Artist and furniture creator André Dubreuil rejected the label "designer” and dismissed the notion of form over function. He’s on record as having said, "if we were merely functionalists we would still be sitting on rocks." Dubreuil's passion was to catch a person's attention and hold it — he did that with outwardly sculptural chairs, wrought iron tables and other furnishings.
Though his works serve their intended function quite well, Dubreuil intentionally masked their purpose in favor of producing pieces that bring delight to the beholder — as exemplified in his Spine chair, created in 1986. Arabesque lines bring form to his work by way of an almost lace-like structure in slender, curving metal table frames and chair legs. It's art that bears a resemblance to furniture.
Originally from Lyon, France, Dubreuil came from a wealthy pharmaceutical and medical research family. He had a classical upbringing, surrounded by ornate furniture and lavish decor, and so became accustomed to the finer things in life.
As a teenager, he moved to London to study drawing and drafting at the Inchbald School of Design. Dubreuil became a painter and worked as an antiques dealer before he fell in love with decorating. In 1981, he opened a workshop — alongside three colleagues, including British furniture designer Tom Dixon — creating decorative furniture from salvaged pieces of scrap metal and automotive parts.
Dubreuil drew on the work of French cabinetmaker André-Charles Boulle and Louis XV-era furnishings as well as French Art Deco and Emilé-Jacques Ruhlmann. He eventually produced a body of work in patinated steel, copper, marble and colored glass for clients including Louis Vuitton and Chanel that would be just as much at home in an art gallery as it would be in a parlor or dining room.
Dubreuil passed away in 2022, leaving behind a magnificent array of furnishings that invite admiration and uplift any space.
Find vintage André Dubreuil tables, seating and lighting on 1stDibs.
$142,622
"Perles" candleabra
By André Dubreuil
Located in Paris, FR
The "Perles" candlesticks reveal all the poetry that André Dubreuil knew how to breathe into metal. Nicknamed the Poet of Iron, he transformed a raw, rigid material into forms that s...
Metal, Bronze, Iron
$2,090 / item
H 30.71 in Dm 14.18 in
Louis XVI Style Gilt Bronze and Tole Bouillotte By Gherardo Degli Albizzi
By Gherardo Degli Albizzi
Located in Florence, Tuscany
This fine and elegant Louis XVI style gilt bronze and hand-painted tole Bouillotte by Gherardo Degli Albizzi has got three-lights. The Toleware shade is hand painted with green ename...
Bronze, Tôle
$1,463 / item
H 24.41 in Dm 7.88 in
Louis XV Style Gilt and Chiseled Bronze Candlestick By Gherardo Degli Albizzi
By Gherardo Degli Albizzi
Located in Florence, Tuscany
This little Louis XV style gilt bronze candlestick by Gherardo Degli Albizzi would be ideal to be placed on a bedside table. It resume the great taste of Rococo period decoration. A...
Bronze
A pair of Tiffany Studios Etruscan bronze Candlesticks
By Tiffany Studios
Located in Harrington Park, NJ
A pair of art nouveau tall and slender candlesticks, In dark and green patinated bronze. A large disc with rippled edge and swirling texture serves as the foot of the composition, f...
Bronze
$16,000
H 23.5 in W 9.25 in D 7.5 in
Gilded Bronze & Blue John Candleabra in the Manner of Matthew Boulton
By Matthew Boulton
Located in Hudson, NY
This fine pair of four-light candelabra are English and made circa 1820. In the manner and style of the great English sliver and bronze craftsman Matthew Boulton, they are made from ...
Rock Crystal, Ormolu
Claude Boeltz, Bronze Eclaté Candleabras, France, circa 1970s
By Claude Victor Boeltz
Located in New York, NY
Claude Boeltz’s candelabras possess the asymmetrical, numinous beauty of lightening, mimicking the natural phenomenon in hue, form, and arrangement.
Quartz, Bronze
$2,449 / set
H 19.69 in W 9.45 in D 5.91 in
Louis XVI Style set of Gilt Bronze and Enamel Sconces by Gherardo Degli Albizzi
By Gherardo Degli Albizzi
Located in Florence, Tuscany
Louis XVI Style set of Gilt Bronze and Enamel Sconces by Gherardo Degli Albizzi. This fine set of wall sconces is crafted entirely of gilded bronze and decorated with elements typica...
Bronze, Enamel
Incredible Pair of Brass Flower Motif Candleabra
Located in Hopewell, NJ
Lovely pair of tall circular brass candleabra having decorative flower motif candle holders at graduated heights. Will sell individually.
Brass
Louis XV Style Gilt Bronze Lamp By Gherardo Degli Albizzi
By Gherardo Degli Albizzi
Located in Florence, Tuscany
This Louis XV style gilt bronze lamp by Gherardo Degli Albizzi resumes the great taste of Rococò period decoration. As this, vegetal motifs are all over this piece and it features gr...
Bronze
$1,366 / item
H 18.51 in Dm 9.06 in
Neoclassical Style Gilt Bronze and Cut Crystal Lamp By Gherardo Degli Albizzi
By Gherardo Degli Albizzi
Located in Florence, Tuscany
Neoclassical style Gilt Bronze and Cut Crystal Lamp By Gherardo Degli Albizzi features Classic amphor shape and curved handles. Central body of this little lamp...
Crystal, Bronze
Fancy Pair of Neoclassical Style Bronze & Marble Candleabra
Located in Hopewell, NJ
French pair of antique bronze neoclassical ornate candleabra having rouge and black marble two tone bases, decorative chains adorning the 6 arms with central removeable finial that m...
Marble, Bronze
Pair of 19th Century II Empire Four-Light Candleabra
Located in Westport, CT
Pair of lovely and refined matte and gilded bronze four light candleabras with siena marble bases, Napoleon III period (would also make handsome lamps)
Marble, Bronze
Coppia di Candelieri Barocchi a Rocchetto in Bronzo Firenze XVII
Located in Pistoia, IT
Coppia di pique-cierges barocchi in bronzo fuso e tornito, Firenze, XVII secolo. Typical Florentine pique-cierges model known by the name "rocchetto" from the particular shape remini...
Bronze
Andre Dubreil Sculptural Iron Ram Chair for Ceccotti Collezioni
By André Dubreuil, Ceccotti
Located in Ferndale, MI
Beautifully formed iron chair in excellent original steel grey finish. Stamped Ceccotti Collezioni Designed by Andre Dubreil.
Wrought Iron