Jacques Adnet (20 April 1900 – 29 October 1984) was a French

art deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unit ...

modernist designer, architect and

interior designer Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. An interior designer is someone who plans, researches, coordina ...

. He was known for his furniture designs in leather.

Education

An icon of luxurious French

Modernism Modernism is both a philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new forms of art, philosophy, ...

, Jacques Adnet grew up with the 20th Century. He attended the Municipal School of Design in

Auxerre Auxerre ( , ) is the capital of the Yonne department and the fourth-largest city in Burgundy. Auxerre's population today is about 35,000; the urban area (''aire d'attraction'') comprises roughly 113,000 inhabitants. Residents of Auxerre are re ...

and the

École des Beaux-Arts École des Beaux-Arts (; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth centur ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

. He believed in the functional aspect of furniture combined with geometrical simplicity. Jacques Adnet was inspired by pre-classical styles and was well acquainted with traditional furniture. Until the age of 28, Jacques lived and worked hand in hand with his twin brother Jean at the Studio La Maitrise, where they met the Art Déco designer Maurice Dufrene. From 1928 to 1960, he directed La Compagnie des Arts Francais. His team of decorators included Francois Jourdain,

Charlotte Perriand Charlotte Perriand (24 October 1903 – 27 October 1999) was a French architect and designer. Her work aimed to create functional living spaces in the belief that better design helps in creating a better society. In her article "L'Art de Vivre" f ...

and Georges Jouve. Adnet presided over the Salon des Artistes Decorateurs from 1947 to 1949. During the 1950s, he created furniture and concentrated on the numerous commissions he received, such as the decoration of the private apartments of the President at the Elysée Palace or the meeting room of the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. I ...

headquarters in Paris. In 1959 he became the director of

École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs The École nationale supérieure des Arts Décoratifs (ÉnsAD, also known as Arts Decos', École des Arts Décoratifs) is a public grande école of art and design of PSL Research University. The school is located in the Rue d'Ulm in Paris. Prof ...

in Paris until 1970.

Selected works

Adnet exhibited at the 1925

Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes The International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts (french: Exposition internationale des arts décoratifs et industriels modernes) was a World's fair held in Paris, France, from April to October 1925. It was designed by the Fren ...

. Distinctly

avant garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...

, Adnet and was among the first to expect metal and glass to integrate with the structure and decoration of furniture. In 1926 he designed the salle commune of the Ile-de-France. By 1928, had become Director of La Compagnie des Arts Français (CAF) - at the age of 28. CAF provided Adnet with an ideal platform from which to promote his modernist designs. These incorporated precious woods, chromed metals, embellishments such as mirror, leather, parchment and

smoked glass Smoked glass is glass held in the smoke of a candle flame (or other inefficiently burning hydrocarbon) such that one surface of the sheet of glass is covered in a layer of smoke residue. The glass is used as a medium for recording pen traces in sc ...

in linear styles with decoration pared away wherever possible. In 1970 Adnet became director of

. He died in 1984 having created a legacy of fine design that feels "modern" even today."Quand l'

entrait dans ses meubles",

Jean-Pierre Thiollet Jean-Pierre Thiollet (; born 9 December 1956) is a French writer and journalist. Primarily living in Paris, he is the author of numerous books and one of the national leaders of the European Confederation of Independent Trade Unions (CEDI), a ...

, ''

Le Quotidien de Paris ''Le Quotidien de Paris'' was a French newspaper founded in 1974 by . Along with ' and ', ''Le Quotidien de Paris'' made up the (Daily Press Group) which employed over 550 individuals," Philippe Tesson : « Mes trois critères d'appréciation » ...

'', 3 June 1981.

References

External links

More than 140 items designed by Jacques Adnet on architonic.com:
with images, information and auction results * Jacques Adnet biography, auction results, library http://www.artdecoceramicglasslight.com/makers/adnet-jacques/adnet-jacques---biography
Mobilier national : Jacques Adnet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adnet, Jacques Art Deco designers French interior designers French furniture designers 1900 births 1984 deaths People from Loiret 20th-century French architects École des Beaux-Arts alumni