Mathieu Matégot Furniture
French, Hungarian, b. 1910
With their curvaceous metal surfaces and shapes often resembling sheets of folded paper, Mathieu Matégot's inspiring furniture and lighting designs are easily recognizable and highly sought after by collectors. By working with perforated sheet metal and metal tubing, the Hungarian-born French architect, artist and designer — who is known by aficionados for his “rigitulle” technique — created tables, chairs and decorative objects that are celebrated works of French modernism and make a statement in any interior.
Matégot attended the Budapest School of Fine Arts and Architecture. He graduated in 1929 and traveled before settling in Paris in 1931, where he worked as a window dresser for department stores and as a set designer for cabaret halls.
In 1939, Matégot joined the French army in resistance to invading Nazi forces. He was soon captured and sent to work in a German factory. It was at this factory where Matégot became familiar with the materials and techniques that would inform and inspire his trademark rigitulle method.
After the war ended, Matégot opened a workshop in Paris and began to create handcrafted furniture that didn't conform to established styles of the time. Matégot explored merging traditional and non-traditional materials — he worked with formica, glass and natural materials such as rattan — and engaged in other forward-looking experiments. Matégot soon patented his career-defining rigitulle technique and material, which saw the designer working with metal tubing and perforated metal sheets and producing thin, airy folds into the metal as if he were manipulating fabric or paper.
Many of Matégot’s designs for table lamps, pendants, tables and more are reflective of the rigitulle technique, but the best-known work that exemplifies this process is his elegant three-legged Nagasaki chair, which he exhibited in 1954 at the Salon des Artistes Décorateurs. The original Nagasaki chair gave way to a collection that included a stool and an armchair. Matégot’s Nagasaki dining chair has been reissued by Gubi and is part of the permanent collection at the Vitra Design Museum, which is home to one of the world’s most important furniture collections.
Matégot created a range of smaller items for the home — serveware, side tables and magazine racks, each distinctive in their fluid and organic forms — but halted his career in design and moved to Angers in the early 1960s in order to turn to creating art. Today he is known for his abstract tapestries as well as his furnishings.
Find vintage Mathieu Matégot furniture on 1stDibs.
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Creator: Mathieu Matégot
Dealer: 3details
Steel and rattan bookshelf by Mathieu Matégot for Artimeta
By Artimeta, Mathieu Matégot
Located in Henley-on Thames, Oxfordshire
Documented Mathieu Matégot steel and rattan bookshelf – similar version illustrated in the Artimeta catalogue – Netherlands circa 1955
Category
Mid-20th Century Dutch Mid-Century Modern Mathieu Matégot Furniture
Materials
Steel
Clef de Sol étagère by Mathieu Matégot
By Mathieu Matégot
Located in Henley-on Thames, Oxfordshire
Clef de Sol bookshelf
Produced by Ateliers Matégot
France, c.1955
White painted metal (later painted)
documentation :
- MONDINEU, Mathieu Mategot, éd. Jou...
Category
1950s French Mid-Century Modern Vintage Mathieu Matégot Furniture
Materials
Metal, Steel
Mathieu Matégot perforated steel bottle holder
By Mathieu Matégot
Located in Henley-on Thames, Oxfordshire
A perforated steel bottle holder by Mathieu Matégot
made by Les Ateliers Matégot
documented in the book “Mathieu Matégot”
Galerie Jousse entreprise 2003
ISBN : 2-9518449-1-3
Category
Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Mathieu Matégot Furniture
Materials
Steel
Rare pair of mid century two tier jardinieres by Mathieu Matégot
By Mathieu Matégot
Located in Henley-on Thames, Oxfordshire
Set of four stackable planters by Mathieu Matégot (1910-2001)
Metal and perforated lacquered sheet metal (rigitulle)
Model created circa 1950 (priced for the set of 4)
Bibliogr...
Category
Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Mathieu Matégot Furniture
Materials
Steel
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Mathieu Matégot furniture for sale on 1stDibs.
Mathieu Matégot furniture are available for sale on 1stDibs. These distinctive items are frequently made of metal and are designed with extraordinary care. There are many options to choose from in our collection of Mathieu Matégot furniture, although black editions of this piece are particularly popular. We have 221 vintage editions of these items in-stock, while there is 45 modern edition to choose from as well. Many of the original furniture by Mathieu Matégot were created in the mid-century modern style in europe during the 20th century. If you’re looking for additional options, many customers also consider furniture by David Lange, Line Vautrin, and Roger Feraud. Prices for Mathieu Matégot furniture can differ depending upon size, time period and other attributes — on 1stDibs, these items begin at $249 and can go as high as $30,000, while a piece like these, on average, fetch $1,670.
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