Design français 1950 : La génération des jeunes loups

The furniture of the 1950s in France is best known for its major names, such as Charlotte Perriand and Jean Prouvé, and others such as René Herbst, Jacques Dumond and Louis Sognot. These were, however, the continuation of careers that had begun between the wars. In fact, creation during this decade was mainly the work of a new generation, including Pierre Guariche, Michel Mortier, Joseph-André Motte, Alain Richard and Pierre Paulin, who were described by the press as ‘young wolves’, among many other talents.

This book focuses on these ‘young wolves’ and seeks to re-establish the importance of this prolific and enthusiastic creative output, even though the newcomers remained faithful to the modernist and functionalist principles laid down by their elders at the Union des artistes modernes, founded in 1929, with which they were often affiliated. Situated between the ‘reconstruction style’ that marked the immediate post-war period and the ‘plastic years’ of the following decade, the furniture of the 1950s was characterised by a combination of wood and metal, a touch of utopia, a fascination with American design, an exploration of geometric shapes linked to the golden ratio, and a clever response to practical needs, to name but a few of the features analysed in detail in this book.

Designers included in this book: Janine Abraham and Dirk Jan Rol - ARP (Atelier de recherche plastique) - Jacques Biny - René-Jean Caillette - Geneviève Dangles and Christian Defrance - Pierre Disderot - Roger Fatus - Étienne Fermigier - Pierre Guariche - Robert Mathieu - André Monpoix - Michel Mortier - Joseph-André Motte - Pierre Paulin - Antoine Philippon and Jacqueline Lecoq - Alain Richard.