Paul Tissier : L'architecte Des Fêtes Des Années Folles

French architect Paul Tissier (1886-1926) made his short life an artistic adventure with many facets. His talent as a watercolourist and draughtsman made him a witness to the ruins of the 1914-1918 war. He developed a singular catalogue of modular houses, mixing traditional architecture and modern design, both in the devastated regions and on the Côte d'Azur.

In 1923, the Société des grands hôtels de Nice entrusted Tissier with the organisation of exceptional festivities which took as their theme Russia, the Far East, ancient Rome or Latin America, but also the underwater kingdoms and many other fantasies around childhood, fashion or cubism. With his wife Gisèle, he was responsible for both the scenography and the staging: painted canvases, extravagant costumes, dances, processions, naval jousts, fireworks or illuminations... In three years, Paul Tissier produced nearly 100 festivals throughout Europe before he died suddenly.

This first monograph draws on the 400 elements of decorations and the 2,000 graphic documents that remain in his archives and offers a plunge into the heart of the excesses of the Roaring Twenties.