Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 11

two-top side table by René Gabriel

About the Item

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 for the reconstruction of Le Havre. His reputation in mass production is growing. In 1945, he was appointed president of the Société des artistes décorateurs. Several years of teaching at the École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs followed, during which he trained some of the great names in French design, including Alain Richard, André Monpoix, Joseph-André Motte and Pierre Guariche. In 1950, as a tribute to his major role in the history of design, the main actors of the Salon des arts ménagers created the famous René Gabriel Prize which rewarded every year for several decades the creators of innovative models in a qualitative and economic range. Gabriel's only concern was to offer modern furniture at affordable prices. To this end, he used white woods and published the results of his early work in the August-September 1936 issue of "Décor d'aujourd'hui". Forgoing solid or rare woods, he selected the least expensive species, but gave them consistency by veneering, for example, poplar panels on either side of a wide beech frame to create an apparent thickness of section and a reassuring volume for his customers.
  • Creator:
    Rene Gabriel (Designer)
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 19.3 in (49 cm)Width: 15.36 in (39 cm)Depth: 22.84 in (58 cm)
  • Materials and Techniques:
  • Place of Origin:
  • Period:
  • Date of Manufacture:
    1946
  • Condition:
    Refinished.
  • Seller Location:
    PARIS, FR
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU7846236615552
More From This SellerView All
  • Sideboard by René Gabriel
    By Rene Gabriel
    Located in PARIS, FR
    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 aestheti...
    Category

    Vintage 1940s French Dressers

    Materials

    Beech

  • Armchair by Rene Gabriel, 1947
    By Rene Gabriel
    Located in PARIS, FR
    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...
    Category

    Vintage 1940s French Armchairs

    Materials

    Beech

  • Console Table in Oak by René Gabriel, 1940
    By Rene Gabriel
    Located in PARIS, FR
    Console/Dessert Table made by René Gabriel, 1940 The object consists of two arches connected by two trays, all made of oak wood. With its aesthetic simplicity and strong, decisive l...
    Category

    Vintage 1940s French Console Tables

    Materials

    Oak

  • Buffet for "priority furniture" by René Gabriel
    By Rene Gabriel
    Located in PARIS, FR
    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 aestheti...
    Category

    Vintage 1940s French Buffets

    Materials

    Beech

  • Luxury Desk in Zebra Wood by Rene Gabriel, 1946
    By Rene Gabriel
    Located in PARIS, FR
    Luxury Desk in Zebra Wood by Rene Gabriel, 1946 This desk was edited in 1946, it was presented at the "Salon des Artistes Décorateurs" the same year. The ...
    Category

    Vintage 1940s French Desks and Writing Tables

    Materials

    Zebra Wood

  • Desk with Shelf and Drawers by René Gabriel, 1950
    By Rene Gabriel
    Located in PARIS, FR
    Desk with shelf and drawers by René Gabriel, 1950 This desk is one of the last pieces designed by the greatest designer of the French Reconstruction: René Gabriel (1899-1950). 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...
    Category

    Vintage 1950s French Desks

    Materials

    Oak

You May Also Like
  • French Reconstruction Era Beech Slatted Side Table in the style of René Gabriel
    By Rene Gabriel
    Located in Chicago, IL
    Midcentury modernist solid beech "Morton Tenaise" side table with slatted top, in the style of René Gabriel. From the French post-war Reconstructionist period.
    Category

    Vintage 1950s French Mid-Century Modern Side Tables

    Materials

    Beech

  • Large Coffee Table by Rene Gabriel
    By Rene Gabriel
    Located in Brooklyn, NY
    Large oak coffee table by Rene Gabriel from the reconstruction period . Located in New York.
    Category

    Vintage 1950s French Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables

    Materials

    Oak

  • Oak Desk by Rene Gabriel
    By Rene Gabriel
    Located in New York, NY
    Post World War II oak desk with bronze drawer pulls.
    Category

    20th Century French Desks and Writing Tables

    Materials

    Bronze

  • René Gabriel Oak Two Tiered Gueridon, France 1950's
    By Rene Gabriel
    Located in New York, NY
    An elegant gueridon in oak, two-tiered with a masterfully sun veneered top.
    Category

    Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Gueridon

    Materials

    Oak

  • René Drouet Rene Side or Coffee Table Iron Églomisé Mirrored Top, France, 1940
    By René Drouet
    Located in Vienna, AT
    Iconic etched mirrored glass and painted and gilt wrought iron French 1940s coffee table, René Drouet Elegant handmade wrought iron table in original mint color and golden accents. ...
    Category

    Vintage 1940s French Mid-Century Modern Side Tables

    Materials

    Wrought Iron

  • Cleo Side Table, Smooth- Contemporary, Handmade Table by Artist Gabriel Anderson
    By Dean & Dahl
    Located in Putnam Valley, NY
    In this piece, the artist embraces the inherent fluidity of pigmented plaster to sculpt a tapered cylinder, where the material itself narrates a transition from solidity to ethereali...
    Category

    2010s American Modern Side Tables

    Materials

    Plaster

Recently Viewed

View All