Art Deco Rug Designed by Jean Burkhalter for Pierre Chareau

05024
Period
Circa 1925
Artist
Jean Burkhalter for Pierre Chareau
Origin
France
Status
Available
Size
287 cm x 225 cm
9'5" x 7'4"
Materials
Wool

Jean Burkhalter designed this Art Deco rug in 1925, commissioned by Pierre Chareau for a seaside mansion on the island of Corsica. This example is part of a suite of five pieces, each crafted to fit into specific areas of the villa.

Jean Burkhalter (1895-1984) was a renowned French architect and designer. After completing his studies at the Ecole des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, Burkhalter worked for a few years with Jules Coudyser, one of the leading Parisian décorateurs and a well-known publisher of textile art, from whom he learned much about weaving techniques.

In 1919, he was invited to exhibit at the Salon des Artistes Décorateurs, where he presented his first collection of carpets and fabrics. This experience earned him a contract as a designer at the Atelier Primavera, one of the most celebrated maisons among the interior decoration ateliers—conceived as a specialised extension of the Printemps department store. In 1923, he collaborated with such high-calibre architects as Robert Mallet-Stevens and Pierre Chareau, sealing a partnership with the latter by designing 1924 the first collection of carpets for the Boutique Pierre Chareau. This collection is characterised by abstract motifs suggestive of lunar landscapes or irregular shapes whose surfaces convey a marbled and spotted effect (the latter influenced by Robert Delaunay’s theory of ‘Simultaneism’). Other pieces from the collection are distinguished by patterns mimicking pictorial brushstrokes, a homage to the floral style that will distinguish the Art Deco period.

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