PIERRE CHAREAU
H : 22 - W : 58 - D : 21 cm.
H 8 5/8 - W. 22 7/8 - D 8 1/4 in.
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Commissioned from Pierre Chareau for the Grand Hôtel de Tours, these wall lights belong to one of the architect’s notable decorative schemes from the mid-1920s. At that time, Chareau was engaged in designing interiors for prestigious hospitality settings, where a discreet yet forward-looking modernity was sought.
The Grand Hôtel project reflects his particular sensitivity to light, treated not merely as a functional element but as an integral component of the architecture. The use of alabaster panels allows for a soft, diffused glow, creating a warm and refined atmosphere. Their structured metal framework highlights the balance, so characteristic of Chareau’s work, between material richness and constructive clarity.
Designed specifically for this commission, these models relate to a broader body of work in which Chareau explored the modulation of light through translucent materials—an approach that would culminate in some of his most accomplished interiors later in the decade.
Retaining a direct link to their original setting, these wall lights stand as a rare and elegant testimony to a fully integrated decorative vision, where lighting, architecture, and atmosphere are conceived as a whole.
Provenance
Grand Hôtel de ToursPrivate Collection, Paris
Literature
L’Art Vivant, March 1926, a similar model illustrated in an interior plate.
Art et Décoration, July 1926, a similar model illustrated in an interior plate.
M. Bédarida & F. Lamond, Pierre Chareau, Norma Éditions, Paris, 2023, vol. I, p. 70; vol. II, similar models illustrated pp. 126, 127, 273 and p. 334.
Marc Vellay and Kenneth Frampton, Pierre Chareau: Architect-Designer, Éditions du Regard, Paris, 1984, model illustrated pp. 208 and 214, and an eleven-alabaster-panel variant illustrated p. 53.
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