PIERRE CHAREAU | Architect and Craftsman 1883-1950

The best and most thorough monograph on Chareau, containing hundreds of archival and new photographs. 377 illustrations, 28 in color. Dust jacket has very minimal shelf wear and is protected in a clear plastic jacket. Very slight slant to spine. Pages and boards are clean and crisp. Fine condition. "Pierre Chareau's Mason de Verre, built in Paris in the 1920s, is among the most universally acknowledged architectural masterpieces of our century. It has even engendered a cult with its own fan club - Friends of the Maison de Verre - and because of its unique style and complexity its admirers range from functionalists to post modernists. In fact, Chareau's entire output of buildings and furniture is difficult to classify, which perhaps explains why this book is the first comprehensive publication about his life and work, and thus fills a significant gap in the history of twentieth-century design. Chareau was a man of many talents. The authors document his considerable achievements not only as a designer of furniture and interiors, but also as a poet and inventor. The book examines the conflict in Chareau's work-so typical of twentieth-century design-between creating the unique work of art and meeting the demands of standardization, as well as his attempts to give new definition to the living space through a conception that lies somewhere between architectural and functional demands on the one hand, and applied decoration on the other. Marc Vellay is the grandson of Chareau's original client for the Mason de Verre. His extensive analysis of Chareau's work and career is complemented by a discussion of the Maison de Verre by Kenneth Frampton, Professor of Architecture at Columbia University, in which an original comparison between Chareau's masterwork and the Large Glass of Marcel Duchamp is proposed. With its wealth of illustrations and thoroughly researched text, this monograph will stand as the definitive account of one of the most revered of modern masters.” - from the dust jacket flap 9.1 x 12.3 inches