Andre Arbus

The most complete monograph thus far on the work of Andre Arbus, exceptional decorator of the interwar period and subsequent reconstruction "The life and work of Andre Arbus (1903-1969)," wrote Yvonne Brunhammer, "are the story of faithfulness to French tradition and a unique quest for 'unity in the artistic life' of his age." The return to tradition he advocated in his article on furniture, in 1935 opened a new path between traditional furniture making defended by Ruhlmann and Le Corbusier's standardized equipment. For his unit of measure, the decorator chose man, this geometry of the heart that he recognized in the classicism of French furniture. Official supplier to the Mobilier National in the early post-war years, he designed furniture, rugs, and light fixtures for the Elysee Palace, the chateau of Rambouillet, as well as ministries and embassies. This humanist manifested an extremely wide-ranging talent. Authorizing officer of prestigious ocean liners, architect of "A house for the French Family" at the Exposition of 1937, Provencal farmhouses in the Crau country and maritime monuments like the Planier Lighthouse, from the 1950s on he focused on sculpture, applying his controlled classicism to the creation of a moving image of man. Text in French."