Small Cafeteria Table a.k.a "Compas" Designed by Jean Prouve, circa 1950, France
View Similar Items
Small Cafeteria Table a.k.a "Compas" Designed by Jean Prouve, circa 1950, France
About the Item
- Creator:Jean Prouvé (Designer, Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 27.56 in (70 cm)Width: 44.1 in (112 cm)Depth: 27.56 in (70 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:Bentwood,Wood
- Place of Origin:France
- Period:1950-1959
- Date of Manufacture:circa 1950
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Barcelona, ES
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU2938315330872
Jean Prouvé
Engineer and metalsmith, self-taught designer and architect, manufacturer and teacher, Jean Prouvé was a key force in the evolution of 20th-century French design, introducing a style that combined economy of means and stylistic chic. Along with his frequent client and collaborator Le Corbusier and others, Prouvé, using his practical skills and his understanding of industrial materials, steered French modernism onto a path that fostered principled, democratic approaches to architecture and design.
Prouvé was born in Nancy, a city with a deep association with the decorative arts. (It is home, for example, to the famed Daum crystal manufactory.) His father, Victor Prouvé, was a ceramist and a friend and co-worker of such stars of the Art Nouveau era as glass artist Émile Gallé and furniture maker Louis Majorelle. Jean Prouvé apprenticed to a blacksmith, studied engineering, and produced ironwork for such greats of French modernism as the architect Robert Mallet-Stevens. In 1931, he opened the firm Atelier Prouvé. There, he perfected techniques in folded metal that resulted in his Standard chair (1934) and other designs aimed at institutions such as schools and hospitals.
During World War II, Prouvé was a member of the French Resistance, and his first postwar efforts were devoted to designing metal pre-fab housing for those left homeless by the conflict. In the 1950s, Prouvé would unite with Charlotte Perriand and Pierre Jeanneret (Le Corbusier’s cousin) on numerous design projects. In 1952, he and Perriand and artist Sonia Delaunay created pieces for the Cité Internationale Universitaire foundation in Paris, which included the colorful, segmented bookshelves that are likely Prouvé’s and Perriand’s best-known designs. The pair also collaborated on 1954’s Antony line of furniture, which again, like the works on 1stDibs, demonstrated a facility for combining material strength with lightness of form.
Prouvé spent his latter decades mostly as a teacher. His work has recently won new appreciation: in 2008 the hotelier Andre Balazs purchased at auction (hammer price: just under $5 million) the Maison Tropicale, a 1951 architectural prototype house that could be shipped flat-packed, and was meant for use by Air France employees in the Congo. Other current Prouvé collectors include Brad Pitt, Larry Gagosian, Martha Stewart and the fashion designer Marc Jacobs. The rediscovery of Jean Prouvé — given not only the aesthetic and practical power of his designs, but also the social conscience his work represents — marks one of the signal “good” aspects of collecting vintage 20th century design. An appreciation of Jean Prouvé is an appreciation of human decency.
- Jean Prouvé Black Compas Desk, 1950sBy Jean ProuvéLocated in New York, NYElegant desk by Jean Prouvé in black color. Produced by Atelier Jean Prouvé in 1950s. Original Oak top.Category
Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsMetal
- Pine Dining Table by Guy Rey-Millet & Jean Prouvé, circa 1970, FranceBy Jean Prouvé, Guy Rey-MilletLocated in Girona, SpainPine dining table by Guy Rey-Millet & Jean Prouvé Pine tabletop and legs Furniture designed by Millet & Prouvé for the Jean Prouvé mountain refuge at the Vanoise Pass, Savoie, Fran...Category
Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsPine
$5,600 Sale Price37% Off - Jean Prouvé Rare Green Compas DeskBy Jean ProuvéLocated in New York, NYElegant green desk by Jean Prouvé in green color. Original untouched condition, produced by Atelier Jean Prouvé in 1950s.Category
Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsMetal
- Midcentury Jean Prouvé StoolsBy Jean ProuvéLocated in BROOKLYN, NYAtelier Jean Prouvé designed for the Lycée Fabert, Metz. France, 1930s. Lacquered metal base and turned plywood seat. All have markings on the underside. These wonderful stools also ...Category
Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Stools
MaterialsSteel
- Jean Prouvé Guéridon Bas Coffee Table in Walnut for VitraBy Jean Prouvé, VitraLocated in Glendale, CAJean Prouvé guéridon bas coffee table in walnut for Vitra. In like new condition. Executed in solid American walnut. Retains manufacturer's label and cert...Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cockt...
MaterialsWood, Walnut
- French Coffee Table 1950s Atributed Jean ProuveBy Jean ProuvéLocated in Čelinac, BACoffee Table France 1950sCategory
Vintage 1950s French Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsWood