Pierre Patout (1879-1965) was a French architect and interior designer, who was one of the major figures of the

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

movement, as well as a pioneer of

Streamline Moderne Streamline Moderne is an international style of Art Deco architecture and design that emerged in the 1930s. Inspired by aerodynamic design, it emphasized curving forms, long horizontal lines, and sometimes nautical elements. In industrial design ...

design. His works included the design of the main entrance and the Pavillion d'un Collecteur at the

International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts The International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts (french: Exposition internationale des arts décoratifs et industriels modernes) was a World's fair held in Paris, France, from April to October 1925. It was designed by the Fren ...

in Paris in 1925, and the interiors of the ocean liner '' Normandie'' and other French transatlantic liners in the 1930s.

Life

Pierre Patout was born on 23 April 1879 in Tonnerre in the

Yonne Yonne () is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in France. It is named after the river Yonne, which flows through it, in the country's north-central part. One of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté's eight constituent departments, it is lo ...

Department. He died on 21 May 1965 in Yonne in

Souzay-Champigny Souzay-Champigny () is a commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France. See also *Communes of the Maine-et-Loire department The following is a list of the 177 communes of the Maine-et-Loire department of France. The commun ...

, in the

Maine-et-Loire Maine-et-Loire () is a department in the Loire Valley in the Pays de la Loire region in Western France. It is named after the two rivers, Maine and the Loire. It borders Mayenne and Sarthe to the north, Loire-Atlantique to the west, Indre-e ...

Department. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he was a member of the

camouflage Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the ...

department of the French Army, under the command of the painter Lucien-Victor Guirand de Scévolaor, along with a number of other French artists.

1925 Exposition of Decorative Arts

Following the war, he worked closely with his friend the decorator Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann. The two collaborated particularly on designs for the

in Paris from April to October 1925, the event that introduced the style and gave it its name. There were 15,000 exhibitors from twenty different countries, It was visited by sixteen million people during its seven-month run. The main purpose of the Exhibit was to promote the French manufacturers of luxury furniture, porcelain, glass, metal work, textiles and other decorative products. All the major Paris department stores and major designers had their own pavilions. Patout designed the main gateway of the Exposition on the

Place de la Concorde The Place de la Concorde () is one of the major public squares in Paris, France. Measuring in area, it is the largest square in the French capital. It is located in the city's eighth arrondissement, at the eastern end of the Champs-Élysées. ...

, and also ''The Hôtel du Riche Collectionneur'', one of the most popular attractions at the Exposition. Inside it displayed it new furniture designs of Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann, as well as Art Deco fabrics, carpets, and a painting by

Jean Dupas Jean Théodore Dupas (21 February 1882 – 6 September 1964) was a French painter, artist, designer, poster artist, and decorator in the Art Nouveau and Art Deco styles. Life Dupas was born in Bordeaux. He won the Prix de Rome for painting in ...

. The interior design followed the same principles of symmetry and geometric forms which set it apart from

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...

, and bright colors, fine craftsmanship rare and expensive materials which set it apart from the strict functionality of the Modernist style.

The ''Style Paquebot''

His success at the 1925 Exposition led to a commission to design the interior of the newest French transatlantic ocean liner, the '' Ile-de-France'' in 1926, done entirely in the

style. This was followed by further commissions for the

L'Atlantique SS ''L'Atlantique'' was a French ocean liner owned by the Compagnie de Navigation Sud Atlantique, a subsidiary of the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique (CGT). When completed in 1931 she was the largest, swiftest and most luxurious ocean liner o ...

(1930), and, the most famous of all the Normandie (1935). The highlight of the ''Normandie'' interior was the dining room, illuminated with rows of lighted columns of

Lalique Lalique is a French glassmaker, founded by renowned glassmaker and jeweller René Lalique in 1888. Lalique is best known for producing glass art, including perfume bottles, vases, and hood ornaments during the early twentieth century. Following t ...

crystal. This style was known in France as ''Pacquebot'', or ocean liner, and it had an important influence on the later

style of

. It was so popular that Patout applied to it several buildings in Paris; a building on rue Docteur Blanche (1929); another on rue Félicien-David; and a building on Boulevard Victor, on a narrow tapering lot, which he built to resemble a ship, with a pointed bow, long narrow terrace with railings resembling decks, and structures on the roof resembling smokestacks. He also built the Hotel Mércédes on Avenue de Wagram.

World's Fairs and Postwar work

He continued to create exposition architecture. He designed the pavilion of Artists and Decorators for the Paris International Exposition of 1937, and with fellow architect

Roger-Henri Expert Roger-Henri Expert (18 April 1882 – 13 April 1955) was a French architect. Life The son of a merchant, Expert first studied painting at the École des beaux-arts in Bordeaux, then from 1906 attended the École nationale supérieure des Be ...

co-designed the strikingly modern, oval, glass-and-concrete Pavilion of France for the

1939 New York World's Fair The 1939–40 New York World's Fair was a world's fair held at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York, United States. It was the second-most expensive American world's fair of all time, exceeded only by St. Louis's Louisiana Purchas ...

. Following World War II, he took part in the reconstruction of the city of

Tours Tours ( , ) is one of the largest cities in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 ...

, badly damaged in the fighting. He was the architect of among other buildings in Tours, for example the new city public library.

Works

File:Paris-FR-75-Expo 1925 Arts décoratifs-entrée Place de la Concorde.jpg, Concorde Entrance to the 1925 Paris Exposition of Decorative Arts (1925) File:Hotel du Collectionneur , Exposition des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes (1925).jpg, Pavilion of a Collector, Paris Exposition of Decorative Arts (1925) File:Salon of the Hotel du Collectionneur (1925).jpg, Salon of a Collector, Paris Exposition of Decorative Arts (1925) File:SS Normandie (ship, 1935) interior.jpg, Main dining room of the ocean liner ''

S.S. Normandie The SS ''Normandie'' was a French ocean liner built in Saint-Nazaire, France, for the French Line ''Compagnie Générale Transatlantique'' (CGT). She entered service in 1935 as the largest and fastest passenger ship afloat, crossing the Atlant ...

'' by Pierre Patout (1935) File:Immeuble de Pierre Patout Bd Victor Paris XV.jpg, ''Paquebot'' building at 3 Boulevard Victor, 15th arrondissement, Paris by Pierre Patout (1935) File:Boulogne-Billancourt - 2 rue Gambetta - Patout.JPG, Residence and workshop of Patout, 2 rue Gambetta,

Boulogne-Billancourt Boulogne-Billancourt (; often colloquially called simply Boulogne, until 1924 Boulogne-sur-Seine, ) is a wealthy and prestigious Communes of France, commune in the Parisian area, located from its Kilometre zero, centre. It is a Subprefectures in ...

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Patout, Pierre 1879 births 1965 deaths French architects French designers French interior designers Art Deco architects