Console Table in Oak by René Gabriel, 1940

Oak buffet with 2 Doors and 3 Drawers by René Gabriel, 1940s René Gabriel (1899 - 1950) is a precursor of French industrial design. He was one of the first to create, as early as the 1930s, economical mass-produced furniture combining aestheticism, robustness and sobriety, a source of inspiration for a whole generation of future designers. A student at the Germain Pilon School and then at the National School of Decorative Arts, René Gabriel began as a domino maker by designing and producing his own wallpapers, and then made his mark as a decorative artist in most of the salons and international exhibitions of the inter-war period. In 1927, he began his research into the creation of mass-produced furniture and proposed a piece of furniture composed of juxtaposable and superposable elements. He studied an economical version that he presented in 1934 at the Salon des arts ménagers under the name of RG elements. Another major turning point came in 1944, when the Ministry of Reconstruction and Urban Planning commissioned him to create emergency furniture. A fervent advocate of furniture for all, René Gabriel designed numerous models for disaster victims by establishing close ties with industry. He also collaborated with Auguste Perret...

Armchair by Rene Gabriel, 1947 "Salon des artistes décorateurs", 1946. Medium-priced series of furniture published by Lieuvin in light ceruse oak. See page 257, "René Gabriel" Nor...

Post World War II oak desk with bronze drawer pulls.

In the tumultuous landscape of 1940s France, amidst the echoes of war and the stirrings of post-war reconstruction, emerged a distinct piece of furniture that embodies the ethos of its time: the Brutalist side table...