While Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann and other Art Deco contemporaries like Pierre Chareau have been hailed as masters of 20th-century design, René Prou has undeservedly more or less fallen off the decorative-arts radar.
Prou was born in Nantes on July 14, 1887, and later trained at an industrial-design school, the École Bernard-Palissy in Paris, between 1902 and 1908. He started his career working for the interior design firms Gouffé and Schmit & Cie. At the latter, he was responsible for the decoration of the Paris residence of the ambassador of Paraguay. Prou began designing under his own name after World War I and never stopped.
Among other projects, Prou imagined a women’s boudoir and a girl’s bedroom for the prestigious French Embassy pavilion at the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes in Paris — widely considered the start of the Art Deco period. Prou created vases for the Manufacture de Sèvres, a fireplace for the living room of the Villa Noailles and a tearoom at the Lido cabaret on the Champs-Elysées.
The designer was prolific. A promotional brochure for Prou’s eponymous design firm stated that he had designed 60 private residences and 30 banks between 1918 and 1930, and his career continued another 17 years after that.
Prou decorated some 500 train compartments — the most prestigious of which were for the Orient Express — and participated in the interior design of nine luxury ocean liners, including the Paris, the Île-de-France and the legendary Normandie. He was also extremely well connected. His friends included the Catalan painter Josep Maria Sert and fellow designer Louis Sognot; he collaborated on projects with Raymond Subes and Ivan da Silva Bruhns; and he went trout fishing in Normandy with Ruhlmann.
Prou was a devoted pedagogue, too, teaching more than 3,000 pupils at the École nationale supérieure des Arts Décoratifs over two decades, among them Charlotte Perriand and the postwar modernist designers Pierre Guariche and Alain Richard.
Prou’s output included sparks of innovation. He covered the floors of ocean liners with patchwork carpets made of linoleum, for example, and produced some strikingly modern-looking metal chairs. Yet much of his work was more traditional, regularly incorporating typical Art Deco geometric motifs and luxurious wood paneling. A book published in 2018 on Prou’s life and career has given new, and well-deserved, prominence to the influential designer.
Find vintage René Prou furniture on 1stDibs.
$10,000 / set
Pair of 1930s René Prou Slipper Chairs
By René Prou
Located in New York, NY
These earthbound chairs appear to be weightless. Such is the illusion that the designer René Prou was able to create in 1930s Paris with the aid of a highly-skilled upholsterer. Befo...
Silk, Sycamore
$5,900Sale Price / set|40% Off
H 40 in W 16.75 in D 16 in
Rene Prou Art Deco Golden Wrought Iron Dining Room Chairs Black Vinyl Seats, 6
By René Prou
Located in Miami, FL
Superb set of six Art Deco wrought iron dining chairs golden powder coated finish by rene prou in the 1940s style. The set contains 4 highbacked chairs...
Wrought Iron
$16,509 / set
H 27.56 in W 17.72 in D 19.69 in
Pair of Gerrit Rietveld Steltman chairs - Netherlands, 1963
By Gerrit Rietveld
Located in London, GB
Gerrit Rietveld (1888–1964) was a key figure in the De Stijl movement, known for his radical use of geometry, line, and primary colour. A trained cabinetmaker, he brought a sculptura...
Pine
$2,680Sale Price / set|20% Off
H 43.71 in W 15.36 in D 19.69 in
20th Century Pair of Spanish Polychromed Sgabello Carved Side Chair or Stool
Located in Miami, FL
Spanish Sgabello carved side chair or stool depicting shields from Spain. Original polychrome It has a large crest featuring a crown.
Walnut
Gilbert Rohde Slipper Chair
By Gilbert Rohde
Located in Lyndhurst, NJ
The Gilbert Rohde slipper chair designed for Herman Miller, having an upholstered round seat supporting a separate upholstered back all on four turned legs.
Upholstery
Pair of Slipper Chairs in the style of James Mont.
Located in Stamford, CT
A pair of slipper chairs in the style of James Mont.
Wood
$3,700 / set
H 32 in W 24 in D 29.5 in
Vintage Grosfeld House Ebonized Wood, Upholstered Side or Slipper Chairs MCM
By Grosfeld House
Located in North Miami, FL
These elegant vintage Grosfeld House Hollywood Regency side or slipper chairs have an unusual beaded wood detail, that is pierced carvings to the apron of the front of the chairs. Th...
Upholstery, Wood
Rosewood Rococo Revival Slipper Chairs France A Pair
Located in Hudson, NY
An exceptional pair of French Rococo Revival slipper chairs in Rosewood. Each chair meticulously carved with intricate detailing of flora-form in various states of bloom. Retaining the original wooden rollers and brass casters. These have been reupholstered in a gorgeous champagne colored shantung silk. One of them retained the original label from Florian Papp...
Silk, Rosewood
Pair of 1930s French Slipper Chairs Style of Jacques Adnet
By Jacques Adnet
Located in New York, NY
Pair of French slipper chairs style of Jacques Adnet upholstered in mohair. Has black lacquered legs.
Mohair, Wood
$7,450 / set
H 36.5 in W 18.5 in D 21 in
Pair of Rosewood Salon Chairs w/ Upholstery by John Henry Belter, circa 1844
By John Henry Belter
Located in INTERLAKEN, NY
Pair of American "scroll pattern" parlor chairs in rosewood by John Henry Belter or Johann Heinrich Belter, noted German American Cabinetmaker from 1844-1863, NYC. The technique used...
Upholstery, Muslin
$11,800 / set
H 35 in W 31 in D 36 in
Pair of Milo Baughman Style Sheepskin & Chrome Slipper Chairs c. 1970s
By Milo Baughman, Thayer Coggin
Located in Saint Louis, MO
Like floating in a luxurious penthouse high in the sky, this pair of Milo Baughman style 1970s chrome chairs will deliver on all senses. New upholstery in handsewn plush ivory white sheepskins seems to float atop a strong chrome base that's glamorous and modern. Hailing from the 1970s and sexy as ever. Visually, the look is modern, light and chic. The sheepskins add warmth and great texture to a space. Run your hands over the sheepskins - so soft and plush. Looks sexy, feels sexy. Looks lux, feels lux. Sitting experience will love you back. Want to see more beautiful things? Scroll down below and click "View All From Seller" or favorite our shop to get your 1stDibs on our new inventory. Photographed with and currently available. Vladimir Kagan Nautilus Sofa...
Chrome
Pair of Napoleon III Giltwood Slipper Chairs
Located in Houston, TX
A striking pair of Napoleon III giltwood chairs on casters, newly upholstered in a woven block chain velvet, chocolate leather trim, nailhead detail, and a lofty down seat cushion. F...
Giltwood
Rene Prou Armchairs in Walnut, 2 Pairs
By René Prou
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Two pairs of French modernist Art Deco armchairs/pull-up chairs by Rene Prou, circa 1930 in French walnut. Model exhibited at 1929 Salon d’Automne and pictured in the book, Rene Prou...
Walnut
French Art Deco Rene PROU 1930 Vanity Chair
By René Prou
Located in Encino, CA
Rene PROU ( 1889 - 1947 ) Sycamore vanity chair and faux light aubergine leather buttoned upholstery. Circa 1930 Literature : Parisian Auction House France 2009 H.31"7/8 x W.18...
Sycamore, Faux Leather