Coffee Table Design By Robert Mathieu C. 1950/60. Matégot, Chambost, Motte, Guariche.

Superb designer coffee table by Robert MATHIEU circa 1950/1960 with glass top and black lacquered metal base. Dimensions: Length 90cm, width 45.5cm and height 46.5cm Table entirely original in good used condition. This is therefore a fairly rare coffee table by Robert Mathieu circa 1955 with glass top and black lacquered metal base, gilded brass fixings. Robert Mathieu, whom I no longer present, is very well known for his lighting designs but he also produced some rare coffee tables and occasional tables. He created several models of coffee tables in glass and metal, some with perforated sheet metal, others illuminated, etc. Robert Mathieu (1921-2002) Biography by Pascal Cuisinier A graduate of the École Boulle as a bronze turner in 1938, Robert Mathieu was one of the best creators and publishers of French lighting fixtures in the 1950s. In 1948, he set up shop at 98 boulevard Charonne in the 9th arrondissement as a clock maker and began designing lighting fixtures in 1949. He designed and produced his own creations as well as some of Michel Buffet's sublime pieces from 1950. In 1949, the public could see some of his lighting fixtures at the French pavilion at the International Bicentennial Exhibition in Port-au-Prince, Haiti in 1949. Then, in 1954, at of the 10th Milan Triennale, he presented a desk lamp in the French section. Under the name "R. Mathieu Luminaires Rationnels" he developed three main ranges of lighting fixtures. The first was published from 1950/51 around a double lampshade system (the diabolo) and gilded brass. The second, from 1953, used lacquered aluminum reflectors on chandeliers, floor lamps or system wall lamps, then in 1956/1958 he invented a whole range of wall lamps, ceiling lamps, floor lamps with counterweights lacquered in metallic gray and whose reflectors were cones in white Perspex. Other less high-end series followed in the 1960s in glass and teak to accompany the wave of mass-produced Scandinavian furniture. During the 1950s, faced with the development of his publishing house's activities, he bought the "Le luminaire parisien" store at 5, rue Thorigny in the 3rd arrondissement of Paris and then acquired other premises in Bagnolet. Robert Mathieu regularly participated in the Salon des arts ménages as well as the Foire de Paris in order to present his lighting fixtures and some pedestal tables that he also offered in the "R. Mathieu Luminaires Rationnels" catalog. A chandelier and a wall lamp created by Pierre-Gérald Mélinotte – a regular collaborator for the house in the late 1960s – were presented during the selection of Formes Utiles in 1969. A large part of his production was devoted to special orders, particularly for the hotel industry, as evidenced by the design of 950 illuminated mirrors for the rooms of the Concorde Lafayette hotel in Paris in the early 1970s. He ceased his activity in 1978. Robert Mathieu distinguished himself as a creator and manufacturer apart and was recognized in the creative world by receiving a silver and gold medal from the Société d'Encouragement à l'Art et à l'Industrie in 1960 and 1969 respectively.