Set of 4 Stackable Plastic Chairs by Pierre Paulin for Henry Massonnet
About the Item
- Creator:Pierre Paulin (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 94 in (238.76 cm)Width: 53 in (134.62 cm)Depth: 46 in (116.84 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:1680-1689
- Date of Manufacture:1988
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Wolfurt, AT
- Reference Number:
Pierre Paulin
Pierre Paulin introduced a fresh breeze into French furniture design in the 1960s and ’70s, fostering a sleek new Space-Age aesthetic. Along with Olivier Mourgue, Paulin developed chairs, sofas, dining tables and other furnishings with flowing lines and almost surreal naturalistic forms. And his work became such a byword for chic, forward-looking design and emerging technologies that two French presidents commissioned him to create environments in the Élysée Palace in Paris.
Paulin was born in Paris to a family of artists and designers. He initially sought to become a ceramist and sculptor and was studying in the town of Vallauris near the Côte d'Azur — a center for pottery making, where Pablo Picasso spent his postwar summers crafting ceramics — but broke his hand in a fight. He enrolled at the École Camondo, the Paris interior design school. There, Paulin was strongly influenced by the work of Charles and Ray Eames, George Nelson and Arne Jacobsen, as was reflected in his early creations for the manufacturer Thonet-France.
It was at the Dutch firm Artifort, which he joined in 1958, where Paulin blossomed. In a few years, he produced several of his signature designs based on abstract organic shapes. These include the Butterfly chair (1963), which features a tubular steel frame and slung leather, and a group of striking seating pieces made with steel frames covered in polyurethane foam and tight jersey fabric: the Mushroom (1960), Ribbon (1966) and Tongue (1967) chairs. The revered designer not only introduced new construction techniques to Artifort furniture but contributed fresh materials, Pop art colors and dazzling shapes to the mid-century modern era as a whole.
In 1971, the Mobilier National — a department of France’s Ministry of Culture in charge of furnishing top-tier government offices and embassies — commissioned Paulin to redesign President Georges Pompidou’s private apartment in the Élysée Palace. In three years, Paulin transformed the staid rooms into futuristic environments with curved, fabric-clad walls and furnishings such as bookcases made from an arrangement of smoked-glass U shapes, flower-like pedestal chairs and pumpkin-esque loungers.
Ten years later, the Mobilier National called on Paulin again, this time to furnish the private office of President François Mitterand. Paulin responded with an angular, postmodern take on neoclassical furniture, pieces that looked surprisingly at home in the paneled, Savonnerie-carpeted Louis XVI rooms. As those two Élysée Palace projects show, Paulin furniture works well both in a total decor or when used as a counterpoint to traditional pieces. His creations have a unique personality: bright and playful yet sophisticated and suave.
Find vintage Pierre Paulin lounge chairs, armchairs, coffee tables and other furniture on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Wolfurt, Austria
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 7 days of delivery.
- Set of 6 Stackable Chairs, Design by Preben Fabricius, by Interplast, GermanyLocated in Wolfurt, ATThis chair design by Preben Fabricius was manufactured by Interplast in Germany in the 1970s. The stackable chairs are made of glass-fibre reinforced plastic and show signs of wear d...Category
Vintage 1970s German Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsPlastic, Fiberglass
- Set of 5 White Garden Chairs with Woven Plastic Seats, Italy, 1960sLocated in Wolfurt, ATSet of 5 white lacquered iron chairs in beautiful patina with woven plastic seats. Italy, 1960s.Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsIron
- Set of Five Chairs by Thonet, ViennaBy ThonetLocated in Wolfurt, ATThis set of five Thonet chairs. The chairs was made by Thonet in 1984 of dark lacquered wood and grey seat and back with silver upholstery nails. A new cover is necessary, otherwise ...Category
Vintage 1980s Austrian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsWood, Leather
- Gianfranco Frattini for Cassina Set of 2 "Model 849" Chairs, 1958By Cassina, Gianfranco FrattiniLocated in Wolfurt, ATThis pair of "Model 849" armchairs was designed by Gianfranco Frattini in the 1950s and manufactured by the Italian company Cassina. The pieces consist of up...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsWood, Fabric
- Set of 6 Chairs by Pompeo Fumagalli-Mariano Comese, Italy, 1960Located in Wolfurt, ATThis chair was designed and manufactured in Italy in the 1960s by Pompeo Fumagalli-Mariano Comese. The light, delicate frame is made of dark stained w...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsTextile, Wood
- Set of 6 Bentwood Side Chairs by Societa Compensati Curvati, ItalyLocated in Wolfurt, ATThis set of six Italian bentwood chairs was produced in the 1960s by Societa Compensato Curvato. The design was numbered by the manufacturer as...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsMetal
- Pierre Paulin Six Stacking "Samba" Chairs for Henry MassonnetBy Pierre PaulinLocated in Sharon, CTBased on the French Bistro Stacking Chair. Pierre Paulin, the great French designer of modern seating icons, created a series of plastic stacking chairs for Henry Massonnet 1988, o...Category
Vintage 1980s French Post-Modern Chairs
MaterialsPlastic
- Pierre Paulin 'Boston' Garden Chairs for Henry Massonnet in Black and RedBy Pierre PaulinLocated in Los Angeles, CAGreat group of Boston garden chairs by French furniture designer Pierre Paulin and manufactured by Henry Massonnet/STAMP in 1988. Paulin was influence...Category
Vintage 1980s French Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsPlastic
- Boston Chairs by Pierre Paulin for Henry Massonnet, 1988, Set of 6By Pierre PaulinLocated in HEVERLEE, BESet of 6 stackable Boston dining chairs by Pierre Paulin inspired by Piet Mondriaan and Charles Rennie Mackintosh. These dining chairs can be used in a...Category
Vintage 1980s French Post-Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsPlastic
- Boston Chairs by Pierre Paulin for Henry Massonnet, 1988, Set of 6By Pierre PaulinLocated in HEVERLEE, BESet of 6 stackable Boston dining chairs by Pierre Paulin inspired by Piet Mondriaan and Charles Rennie Mackintosh. These dining chairs can be used in a...Category
Vintage 1980s French Post-Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsPlastic
- Boston Chairs by Pierre Paulin for Henry Massonnet, 1988, Set of 6By Pierre PaulinLocated in HEVERLEE, BESet of 6 stackable Boston dining chairs by Pierre Paulin inspired by Piet Mondriaan and Charles Rennie Mackintosh. These dining chairs can be used in a...Category
Vintage 1980s French Post-Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsPlastic
- Pierre Paulin 'Boston' Chairs for Henry Massonnet, France 1988By Pierre PaulinLocated in Almelo, NLPierre Paulin 'Boston' chairs for Henry Massonnet, France 1988 Great Group of Boston Garden chairs by Pierre Paulin inspired by Piet Mondriaan and C...Category
Late 20th Century French Modern Armchairs
MaterialsPlastic
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
At Château La Coste, Pierre Paulin’s Visionary Home Concept Finally Comes to Life
Now synonymous with 1960s and ’70s French chic, the designer conceived his modular modernist furnishings to change the way we decorate.
Exploring Our Current Obsession with Sixties Style
A new exhibition in Philadelphia stars a complex decade that continues to inspire.