PAUL DUPRÉ-LAFON (1900-1971) Slight variation with lacquered wood sliding shutter of the model dated (on plan) March 1, 1929. Modernist quarter-circle desk in black lacquered wood. The right-hand side features a pedestal opening with three drawers. The curved left-hand side features visitor-side niches. The belt opens with a drawer. The top features trap doors: two long ones can be opened with a sliding flap, one with compartments, the other closed by a panel covered in fawn leather, and one square section, closed by a panel covered in fawn leather and housing a removable mahogany pencil holder. The desk pad and the inside of the trap doors are covered in fawn leather. Nickel-plated metal grips on the drawers and sliding flap. Circa 1930. Used condition, restorations, non-original black lacquer, non-original leather parts, nickel plating redone. Height: 79cm - Length: 137cm - Depth: 73cm Please note: We would like to thank Laure Tinel Dupré-Lafon, the artist's successor, for confirming the authenticity of this work. A certificate from the successor in title will be given to the buyer, at his request and expense. Provenance: - Art Nouveau - Art déco - Sale by Me Boisgirard, Hôtel Drouot, October 22, 1986. Our desk was presented at this sale under catalog no. 151. - Galerie Couvrat Desvergnes. Work acquired at the previous sale. - Private collection, Neuilly-sur-Seine. Acquired from Galerie Couvrat Desvergnes during the first exhibition devoted to Paul Dupré-Lafon, held from April 29 to September 15, 1987. Bibliography: Thierry Couvrat Desvergnes - Paul Dupré-Lafon, décorateur des millionnaires - Les Éditions de l'Amateur, Paris, 1990. Our desk reproduced on page 42, details reproduced on pages 44 and 45, an identical desk shown in archive photographs reproduced on pages 94 and 113, the variant with sliding metal shutter reproduced on page 97 on an archive photograph and its plan, dated March 1, 1929, reproduced on page 96. Paul DUPRÉ-LAFON (1900-1971) Paul Dupré-Lafon is an exceptional figure in twentieth-century decorative arts. Beginning his career in the 1920s, at the height of Art Deco euphoria, he succeeded in imposing a personal vision that balanced the trends of the time. Far from homogeneous, the artistic revival of the period was dominated by traditionalists anxious to follow in the footsteps of great French craftsmanship and pursue a quest for refinement, on the one hand, and by modernists in search of rationality and functionality, on the other. Armed with the knowledge of his contemporaries' diverse proposals, the decorator decided to draw the best from them, imagining interiors and furniture that met the criteria of innovation, ergonomics, elegance and luxury. This unique approach has resulted in rigorous, comfortable and refined creations, in which the preoccupations of both modernity and tradition can be seen. Working alone, refusing to have his work published or presented in the salons of the day, Paul Dupré-Lafon imagined his unique creations independently and autonomously. Conceived as elements of a whole, each piece is part of a global vision. Following an approach analogous to the idea of microcosm-macrocosm, each isolated work embodies the reflection of an overall conception of his interior fittings, driven by a fundamental search for dynamism and harmony. At Dupré-Lafon, nothing is incidental. Every design, down to the smallest detail, serves the useful and the beautiful. Balance, harmony, continuity, uniqueness: these are the hallmarks of his distinctive work. His creations reflect the importance of choosing raw materials and the apparent simplicity of lines and shapes. High-quality leathers, woods, lacquered woods, stones and metals alternate on his furniture pieces, which are modelled to the essential. An alternation of ruptures and continuities animates each element he creates. Colors and materials respond to each other, natural tones contrast with the black of lacquered woods, organic materials cohabit with metals, flat surfaces and natural facings follow one another. Far from serving a purely aesthetic purpose, these works are skilfully constructed. Their articulations, often metallic, visually punctuate their lines and enhance their practicality. The interplay of mechanisms reveals hidden functionalities and singularly develops the appearance of these pieces; together or on their own, they demonstrate a definite presence and great power stemming from the way they are put together.