Modernist Art Deco Sideboard by Jacques Adnet, circa 1940
The result of successive eliminations of ornamentation, palette, and form, this supremely Modernist sideboard by Jacques Adnet is a masterpiece of the Rationalist approach he pioneered during a career of constant curiosity, adaptability, and novelty. Cleanly coated in ‘Duco’ black lacquer, one of a select few colours he chose to work with after its introduction in the 1920s, the lacquer stands alone, characteristically underlined by only the gold of the sideboard’s four brass handles. Sloping inward as their line descends vertically from the height at which they would be held, these handles are a testament to the functional attention to detail which Adnet paid to every element of his work.
Aside from this, there is only the subtlest ornamentation, seen elsewhere in Adnet’s documented work from this period: the framing of a slight trim to inset its rectangular form, and the simple geometry of the two proportioned legs, marginally lipped over the body of the sideboard in a way which is uniquely Adnet.
Known for the rich paradox of his character, a profound sense of stability paired with a great openness and receptivity to new ideas and styles, Adnet made this piece at a point of change between two major periods of his career. The reserved form of the sideboard retains the clean, unencumbered modernism which he explored throughout the 1930s, while the prominence of the black lacquer shows the direction which he would take as he moved into the 1940s. This elegant meeting between the refined forms of Rationalism, functional and tasteful in any environment, and the more decorous richness of the lacquered surface and bronze hardware, pronounced throughout the next decade of Adnet’s career, makes this an exceptional and classic demonstration of Adnet’s unmistakable mastery and explorations in Art Deco design.
Dimensions:
Height: 29.53 in (75 cm)
Width: 88.78 in (225.5 cm)
Depth: 18.12 in (46 cm)
The result of successive eliminations of ornamentation, palette, and form, this supremely Modernist sideboard by Jacques Adnet is a masterpiece of the Rationalist approach he pioneered during a career of constant curiosity, adaptability, and novelty. Cleanly coated in ‘Duco’ black lacquer, one of a select few colours he chose to work with after its introduction in the 1920s, the lacquer stands alone, characteristically underlined by only the gold of the sideboard’s four brass handles. Sloping inward as their line descends vertically from the height at which they would be held, these handles are a testament to the functional attention to detail which Adnet paid to every element of his work.
Aside from this, there is only the subtlest ornamentation, seen elsewhere in Adnet’s documented work from this period: the framing of a slight trim to inset its rectangular form, and the simple geometry of the two proportioned legs, marginally lipped over the body of the sideboard in a way which is uniquely Adnet.
Known for the rich paradox of his character, a profound sense of stability paired with a great openness and receptivity to new ideas and styles, Adnet made this piece at a point of change between two major periods of his career. The reserved form of the sideboard retains the clean, unencumbered modernism which he explored throughout the 1930s, while the prominence of the black lacquer shows the direction which he would take as he moved into the 1940s. This elegant meeting between the refined forms of Rationalism, functional and tasteful in any environment, and the more decorous richness of the lacquered surface and bronze hardware, pronounced throughout the next decade of Adnet’s career, makes this an exceptional and classic demonstration of Adnet’s unmistakable mastery and explorations in Art Deco design.
Dimensions:
Height: 29.53 in (75 cm)
Width: 88.78 in (225.5 cm)
Depth: 18.12 in (46 cm)
The result of successive eliminations of ornamentation, palette, and form, this supremely Modernist sideboard by Jacques Adnet is a masterpiece of the Rationalist approach he pioneered during a career of constant curiosity, adaptability, and novelty. Cleanly coated in ‘Duco’ black lacquer, one of a select few colours he chose to work with after its introduction in the 1920s, the lacquer stands alone, characteristically underlined by only the gold of the sideboard’s four brass handles. Sloping inward as their line descends vertically from the height at which they would be held, these handles are a testament to the functional attention to detail which Adnet paid to every element of his work.
Aside from this, there is only the subtlest ornamentation, seen elsewhere in Adnet’s documented work from this period: the framing of a slight trim to inset its rectangular form, and the simple geometry of the two proportioned legs, marginally lipped over the body of the sideboard in a way which is uniquely Adnet.
Known for the rich paradox of his character, a profound sense of stability paired with a great openness and receptivity to new ideas and styles, Adnet made this piece at a point of change between two major periods of his career. The reserved form of the sideboard retains the clean, unencumbered modernism which he explored throughout the 1930s, while the prominence of the black lacquer shows the direction which he would take as he moved into the 1940s. This elegant meeting between the refined forms of Rationalism, functional and tasteful in any environment, and the more decorous richness of the lacquered surface and bronze hardware, pronounced throughout the next decade of Adnet’s career, makes this an exceptional and classic demonstration of Adnet’s unmistakable mastery and explorations in Art Deco design.
Dimensions:
Height: 29.53 in (75 cm)
Width: 88.78 in (225.5 cm)
Depth: 18.12 in (46 cm)
