Jacques Adnet (1900-1984) Modernist Art Deco Lamp

Jacques Adnet (1900-1984) Lumen Edition large Art Deco lamp listed and entitled "Quadro" created around 1928 presenting a structure in the Modernist style in silver tubular metal, formed of two superimposed squares connected from corner to corner, the upper square fitted four neon lights and lined with a frame decorated with spheres. The whole rests on a black marble base with an integrated switch and receiving the publisher's plaque as a plinth. Very good general and electrical condition. Dimensions: width with deployment: 60 cm X height: 58 cm X marble base: 31 cm X 11 cm. LIGHTING AND MODERNITY The advent of electric lighting invented by Thomas Edison in the 1870s coincided with the birth of Art Nouveau - a romantic and naturalist school which celebrated artisanal production in reaction to industry and the production of mass. Thus the organic shapes of the first lighting fixtures created by Majorelle, Guimard and Gallé at the turn of the century, seek to conceal electricity in creations that reproduce Nature. But technological progress was launched, symbolized by the Eiffel Tower illuminated with thousands of electric bulbs during the 1900 Paris Universal Exhibition. Impressive and inaugural demonstration of a new world where metal, industry, electricity and new energies are essential. By the mid-1920s, the exploration of the properties of electric lighting would be at the heart of modern architecture and interior design. Inspired by the rational experiments of the Bauhaus, French avant-garde creators and industrialists will focus on celebrating electric light. The new shapes will be modern and architectural, highlighted by the use of innovative materials that reflect light such as aluminum, chrome metal and glass. While the nickel-plated steel chandeliers and table lamps of many designers, such as Jacques Adnet or René Herbst, are architectural constructions that highlight the dazzling modernity of the electric bulb, others seek to explore the qualities of diffuse ambient light. Among the latter are the cubist-inspired sculptural lamps by Jacques Le Chevallier and Pierre Chareau, or the sumptuous table lamp by Louis Sognot in nickel-plated steel and glass tubes. These shapes with very constructed lines - the image of numerous lamps produced by Maison Desny, evocative of a skyscraper or an electro-mechanical machine component - are representative of the pure industrial aesthetic which will soon dominate. From 1930, materials and technologies will be only part of this wave of influences - including popular cinema and photography - which will allow society to better understand what use can be made of light. Fritz Lang's masterpiece 'Metropolis', produced in 1926, inaugurates a modern and stylized environment, characterized by expressionist lighting. Cinematographic films, produced by Hollywood studios almost weekly, tell stories that make Modernity accessible to everyone. The artistic avant-garde recognizes the importance of cinema. While Pierre Chareau and Robert Mallet-Stevens participate in the creation of film sets, Man Ray's rayographs, which often illustrate emblems of electricity, are exhibited alongside the works of UAM members. It is the exploitation of light, symbolized by the incandescent bulb - mass production of which was possible from 1927 - which will stimulate the creativity of artists, architects, decorators and craftsmen, thus revolutionizing society's perception of its environment.