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Mathieu Matégot Benches

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.

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Creator: Mathieu Matégot
French Decorative Mid Century Black Console Bench by Mathieu Matégot, 1950s
French Decorative Mid Century Black Console Bench by Mathieu Matégot, 1950s

French Decorative Mid Century Black Console Bench by Mathieu Matégot, 1950s

$6,259

French Decorative Mid Century Black Console Bench by Mathieu Matégot, 1950s

By Mathieu Matégot

Located in Stockholm, SE

A rare and decorative French mid century console bench in black lacquered metal, leather and glass by Mathieu Matégot produced by his own atelier in France during the 1950s. In good...

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1950s French Mid-Century Modern Vintage Mathieu Matégot Benches

Materials

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Mathieu Matégot benches for sale on 1stDibs.

Mathieu Matégot benches are available for sale on 1stDibs. These distinctive items are frequently made of metal and are designed with extraordinary care. Many of the original benches by Mathieu Matégot were created in the mid-century modern style in france during the mid-20th century. If you’re looking for additional options, many customers also consider benches by Charlotte Perriand, Guillerme et Chambron, and Pierre Chapo. Prices for Mathieu Matégot benches can differ depending upon size, time period and other attributes — on 1stDibs, these items begin at $4,000 and can go as high as $11,000, while a piece like these, on average, fetch $7,500.

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