74 - Francis JOURDAIN (1876–1958)

Francis JOURDAIN (1876–1958) Modernist armchair in stained beech with a straight, slightly sloped backrest that extends into solid armrests It rests on a upholstered front base and a saber-shaped base at the rear Upholstery entirely covered in a beige-gray fabric with a modern brown leather cushion Model created around 1925 H: 73 cm / W: 54 cm / D: 61 cm Provenance: Private collection, Paris Bibliography: -Léon Werth, “Francis Jourdain décorateur,” “La Demeure française,” Paris, 1925; a similar model is reproduced as No. 3 on page 19. -René Herbst, Storefronts, Display Windows, and Store Installations at the 1925 International Exhibition of Decorative Arts, Editions Charles Moreau, Paris, 1925, pl. 51 for a view in situ at the Crès store in Paris among other pieces of furniture by Francis Jourdain. -Maurice Dufrêne, *Meubles du Temps Présent*, Editions Eugène Moreau, Paris, 1930, pl. 21, showing the piece in situ in Mr. X’s bedroom in Paris. Francis JOURDAIN (1876–1958) Born on November 2, 1876, into a cultured and affluent Parisian family, Francis Jourdain grew up in close contact with the artistic world. His father, Frantz Jourdain—an architect, critic, and founder of the Salon d’Automne—introduced him at a very early age to circles of writers, painters, and intellectuals. This environment fostered in him a precocious aesthetic sensibility and a deep interest in the applied arts. As a teenager, he chose the path of a craftsman rather than that of traditional academic art. He trained in drawing, engraving, glasswork, and decoration. At the Paris World’s Fair, he received a gold medal for the stained-glass windows he created for Loïe Fuller’s theater, designed by Henri Sauvage. This recognition confirmed his talent, but he gradually moved away from the decorative approaches inherited from Art Nouveau to pursue a more rational approach to design. Beginning in 1913, he devoted himself entirely to what he called “furniture ensembles.” Rejecting the lavish ornamentation and ostentatious luxury then in vogue, he designed furniture with clean lines, visible structures, and measured proportions. For him, modernity rested on constructive logic and adaptation to the real needs of everyday life. Decoration is no longer an afterthought but stems directly from function. Together with his friends Léon Wirth and Octave Mirbeau, he founded the Ateliers Modernes, where, through a manifesto, he advocated for the production of simple, modular, and affordable furniture. His ambition was as much social as it was aesthetic: to improve the living environment through honest design, accessible to as many people as possible. Painted wood, smooth surfaces, and standardized, demountable components reflect this commitment to functional simplicity. Initially criticized for his austerity in a context dominated by the decorative, Jourdain found an audience among architects and designers who shared his convictions. Tensions with proponents of a more academic tradition within the Society of Decorative Artists led, in 1929, to the creation of the Union of Modern Artists (U.A.M.), which brought together advocates of art adapted to the industrial age. His work also resonated with the ideas championed by Le Corbusier: standardization, hygiene, light, and the primacy of function. During World War II, he suspended his activities as an architect and interior designer. After the Liberation, he devoted himself more to writing and critical reflection. He died in Paris on December 31, 1958. Francis Jourdain remains a key figure in French modernism. Through his early rejection of superfluous ornamentation, his commitment to constructive rationality, and his advocacy for socially useful design, he made a decisive contribution to the emergence of a modern style based on clarity, function, and economy of means.