Jean Royère, (French, 1902-1981) Bensaude cabinet, 1934. In sycamore veneer. Rectangular in shape, the surface is made up of five bands in relief on three sides. The cabinet opens with three doors revealing two cloakrooms on the sides and four drawers with shoe storage in the center. The perfectly integrated metal hinges are concealed when the unit is closed. Labelled Bedel & Cie Le garde meuble public 17, rue Monsigny. Height 162,5 Width 210, Depth 55 cm. (accidents and missing veneer, as is). Provenance: - delivered by Jean Royère to Dr. Alfred Bensaude, to furnish his apartment on avenue Pierre I of Serbia, on the occasion of his wedding, 1934, - by family descent. Bibliography: - Jean Royère archives, kept at the library of the Museum of Decorative Arts in Paris (MAD), photographic album n°3, reproduced on photos n° R41, R41bis, R42, R250, - Jacques Lacoste Gallery & Patrick Seguin Gallery "Jean Royère", 2012, two volumes, p.74. Archival images on www.rouillac.com. THE BENSAUDE APARTMENT BY ROYÈRE A self-taught artist, Jean Royère (1902-1981) gave up his comfortable situation to become a decorator at the age of twenty-nine. He became one of the most sought-after designers by French and international collectors, and several of his models have become icons. The polar bear sofa, the elephant armchair and the liana light illustrate his original practice, combining precious materials and organic forms: great luxury and humour. Never sacrificing the functional to the aesthetic, the discreet hinges of our Bensaude wardrobe reveal his art of combining design and drawing. Commissioned at the time of his marriage in 1934 by Dr. Alfred Bensaude (1908-1982), a member of an important dynasty of doctors who would become co-founder of the French Society of Proctology, our furniture was originally part of a complete furniture set. The layout of these unique models is preserved in the archives of the library of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs de la Ville de Paris. This commission is one of three for 1934, along with that for Royère's own apartment at 48, rue de Passy. It bears witness to the close relationship between two men of the same generation. In this apartment on Avenue Pierre I de Serbie, each piece of furniture by the decorator appears in its place, made to measure, for the entrance, the study, the bedroom or one of the two living rooms. Designed before the war, our wardrobe and these chests of drawers were intended for the Bensaude couple's bedroom. The choice of the sycamore, a giant maple, for this intimate room is also a symbol of spiritual elevation. Dr. Bensaude was prematurely widowed and remarried, moving to Avenue Bugeaud in Paris. Saved during the war, the ensemble was gradually dispersed. Some of the artefacts can be found on the market, such as a cupboard presented by the Jacques Lacoste gallery. Our furniture has been preserved, for their part, in the descendants of Dr. Bensaude. The large number of photos of the Bensaude wardrobe in the Royère archive tends to prove its importance in the artist's career. It embodies the creative genius of a mind destined to decorate the greatest, after only a few years of practice. Its decoration anticipates the minimalism to come. Purified to the point of becoming modular parallelepipeds, the cabinet appears to us as much as a sculpture as a piece of furniture... thirty-one years before Donald Judd's Stacks. Aymeric Rouillac and Jacques Farran