.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
We would like to thank Guy Bujon for his assistance in cataloguing this lot.
The creations of Eugène Printz – highly prized today, just as they were by his contemporaries – mark a transition in furniture design in the later 1920s, away from the more elaborated, decorative styles of early Art Deco – as so perfectly defined in the 1913 cabinet by Paul Iribe in the present collection – and towards a more architectural style in which clean contours, often with little or no ornamentation, elegantly reflect the logic of their construction.
Printz was trained in the family workshops in Paris, where he developed a respect for fine materials and for equally fine craftsmanship that he put to good use when he set up his own ateliers, making his mark in the later 1920s as a regular exhibitor in the Salon des Artistes Décorateurs. He evolved a signature look, characterized by his confident and distinctive forms and became particularly associated with for the use of palm-wood contrasted with subtly gilt patinated bronze. He is known also for his occasional collaborations with Jean Dunand.
The present suite is a unique commission for a Madame M., a private client and perfectly encapsulates a vision that allied modern forms with the finest artisan traditions. The table, faultlessly proportioned, is raised on simple, architectural plinths; the sideboard, with its unusual stepped drawers tapered to the floor like an inverted pyramid, achieves an impression of lightness, while the asymmetrical top, curved at one end to echo the ends of the table-top, provides a playful element that challenges expectations.
The creations of Eugène Printz – highly prized today, just as they were by his contemporaries – mark a transition in furniture design in the later 1920s, away from the more elaborated, decorative styles of early Art Deco – as so perfectly defined in the 1913 cabinet by Paul Iribe in the present collection – and towards a more architectural style in which clean contours, often with little or no ornamentation, elegantly reflect the logic of their construction.
Printz was trained in the family workshops in Paris, where he developed a respect for fine materials and for equally fine craftsmanship that he put to good use when he set up his own ateliers, making his mark in the later 1920s as a regular exhibitor in the Salon des Artistes Décorateurs. He evolved a signature look, characterized by his confident and distinctive forms and became particularly associated with for the use of palm-wood contrasted with subtly gilt patinated bronze. He is known also for his occasional collaborations with Jean Dunand.
The present suite is a unique commission for a Madame M., a private client and perfectly encapsulates a vision that allied modern forms with the finest artisan traditions. The table, faultlessly proportioned, is raised on simple, architectural plinths; the sideboard, with its unusual stepped drawers tapered to the floor like an inverted pyramid, achieves an impression of lightness, while the asymmetrical top, curved at one end to echo the ends of the table-top, provides a playful element that challenges expectations.