Portrait: Pierre Paulin 2/2

Pierre Paulin (1927-2009) was one of the greatest French designers of the post-war period. He is, without doubt, the equal of Jean Prouvé and is probably the best-known French designer today, along with Philippe Starck. Little known to the general public in French during his lifetime, like Roger Tallon Roger Tallon , the father of French industrial design, he was celebrated abroad from the 1960s onwards, recognised by his American and Scandinavian peers. Like many of the great designers of his time, he was a jack-of-all-trades: from handcrafted furniture to total design and interior design. To delve into the world of Pierre Paulin is to revisit 50 years of design, marked by chairs that have become icons of modern and contemporary design. It's also a chance to revisit the history of places of power in France. Discover the first part of this article on the early career of Pierre Paulin: 1950 - 1970: the emergence of an exceptional designer 1950 - 1970: the emergence of an exceptional designer After 1970: a new dimension in the work of Pierre Paulin After 1970: a new dimension in the work of Pierre Paulin In the context of the time - the 1970s - Pierre Paulin was seen as very avant-garde and visionary. The French still paid little attention to contemporary design, preferring rustic style and period furniture. So it was another visionary for his time, a lover of the art of his time, who came looking for Paulin to give him an unprecedented commission. In 1971, Georges Pompidou and his wife commissioned Pierre Paulin to decorate part of the Elysée Palace! Working in close collaboration with the President of the Republic, who he knew to be passionate about contemporary furniture, Pierre Paulin refurbished three rooms in the private flats of the Elysée Palace: the smoking room, the Salon aux tableaux and, most importantly, the dining room. In terms of innovation, Paulin did not disappoint the expectations of the presidential couple. In the three rooms arranged in a row, the designer, now a space planner, created a hushed, more intimate and less institutional atmosphere. Inspired by tents and yurts, Paulin took the liberty of designing a different 'envelope' for the rooms, since he could not break or alter the very old walls. So the designer covered the existing Napoleon III-style decoration with hangings in grey fabric. For the dining room, the only room left untouched today, Paulin imagined a futuristic 'grotto' in which his creations filled the space. For the occasion, Paulin created two round tables with matt plastic-coated aluminium legs and laminated glass tops. Finally, twenty-four seats in moulded aluminium upholstered in leather or fabric were placed in the dining room. The ceiling of the main room is unusual: a gigantic chandelier made up of 8,973 crystal rods lights up the room. They look like stalactites, suspended from the ceiling. In the Salon aux tableaux, Paulin created the famous Pumpkin Pumpkin armchairs and sofas for the occasion. [caption id="attachment8375" align="aligncenter" width="422"] Decoration of the Elysée dining room by Pierre Paulin[/caption] [caption id="attachment8605" align="aligncenter" width="453"] Dining room at the Elysée Palace in 1971Pierre Berdoy - Mobilier National - Les Archives Paulin[/caption] [caption id="attachment8374*" align="aligncenter" width="398"] The Salon aux tableaux, Palais de l'Elysée, Pumpkin armchairs and sofas created for the occasion. Pierre Berdoy - Mobilier National - Les Archives Paulin[/caption] With the "Elyséen" project, Pierre Paulin proved that he was capable of designing a global environment. In 1984, François Mitterrand commissioned the designer to design his office desk. Interestingly, on this occasion, Paulin abandoned his avant-garde style of the Pompidou years and returned to a much more classic but refined style, in symbiosis with the presidential image. Paulin produced a series of pieces of furniture for the office, most of them in blue, which contrasted happily with the pomp and circumstance of the room. In all, he produced 21 pieces of blue furniture with red aluminium edging - a flat desk and technical console, a coffee table, a lounge with six armchairs and a sofa, a swivel chair, and so on. [caption id="attachment8377" align="aligncenter" width="585"] Palais de l'Elysée, office furniture designed by Pierre Paulin, 1984-1989[/caption] Pierre Paulin went on to produce other institutional commissions for the French state. In particular, he was regularly commissioned by Jean Coural, General Administrator of the Mobilier national and the Manufactures nationales des Gobelins, de Beauvais and de la Savonnerie from 1963 to 1991, who founded the Atelier de recherche et de création (ARC) in 1964. His aim was to promote French know-how, combining craftsmanship and design. With national furniture and the Arc, Pierre Paulin continued to produce and surprise. He worked with designers Joseph-André Motte and André Monpoix to furnish some of the rooms in the Louvre. Under his own name, La Borne, Paulin designed a large circular bench for the Grande Galerie at the Louvre (1968). It was a success. Comfortable and user-friendly, it invites you to contemplate the masterpieces. The Borne is still in use in the Grande Galerie, almost half a century after its creation! [caption id="attachment8376" align="aligncenter" width="533"] La Banquette circulaire Borne by Pierre Paulin, in the Grande Galerie of the Louvre, 1968[/caption] Other government commissions marked Pierre Paulin's career: the French pavilion at the Osaka Universal Exhibition in 1970, the tapestry room at Paris City Hall (1985), and the armchairs and carpets created for the hypostyle room of the Economic and Social Council (Palais d'Iéna, Paris, 1985-1991). [caption id="attachment8606*" align="aligncenter" width="490"] Pierre Paulin, Iena armchair and Jardin à la française rug. Installation artwork, Iena Palace, Hypostyle Hall, 1987. CESE-Benoît Fougeirol - Palais d'Iéna, architect Auguste Perret, UFSE, SAIF. Collection du Mobilier National / Courtesy Galerie Perrotin[/caption] An omnipresent figure in the furniture heritage of the French state in the second half of the 20th century, Pierre Paulin received belated recognition from his native country after the year 2000. Paradoxical, given his formidable contribution in the 1960s, with a design that was at once pure, organic, colourful and elegant. Pierre Paulin's famous chairs, designed in particular with Artifort, are all part of major international museum collections (MoMA, Centre Pompidou) and somewhere in the subconscious of design lovers. So we had to wait until last year, 2016, to see the Centre Georges Pompidou (it had to be him!) devote its first major retrospective to him, a tribute to an exceptional designer at last! Written by François Boutard Written by François Boutard Written by François Boutard

Portrait: Pierre Paulin 2/2

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