Mathieu Matégot
Encyclopedia
Mathieu Matégot was a Hungarian / French
designer and material artist. He was one of the most renowned French designers of the 1950s.
in Hungary
.
He studied at the school of fine arts and architecture in Budapest
between 1925 and 1929.
He created sets for the National Theater.
He then traveled in Italy
and the United States
before settling in France
in 1931.
There he took jobs that included making sets for the Folies Bergères
, window dressing at the Galeries Lafayette
, designing women's dresses and, in the late 1930s, creating tapestries.
In 1933 he started to create his first examples of rattan furniture mounted on metal frames.
Matégot volunteered for the French army at the start of World War II
(1939–1945) and was taken prisoner, being freed in 1944.
As a prisoner, he worked in a plant manufacturing mechanical accessories, where he learned the techniques and potential of sheet metal. After being released he became naturalized as a French citizen.
At first based in Paris
, the workshop later moved to Casablanca
.
All the furniture and other objects had clever, practical and amusing designs. Distributed to decoration shops in editions of 200, his work was extremely successful.
Matégot designed the three-legged "Nagasaki" chair in 1954 and the "Copacabana" armchair (1955/1956), both made of steel tube and perforated sheet metal, characteristic materials whose use Matégot pioneered. The Nagasaki chair is now held in the design collection at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris. The Copacabana armchair is in the design collection at the Centre Georges Pompidou
, Beaubourg, Paris.
Matégot furnished or decorated buildings such as the Hotel de France in Conakry
, Guinea
, the Drugstrore Publicis in Paris and the Maison de l'ORTF in Paris (1962).
In early 1960s, Matégot left furniture design to devote himself full time to tapestry work, becoming one of leaders of the modern movement in French tapestry. His tapestries today hang in many major buildings.
For example, three of his works are in the National Library of Australia
.
When the building was opened, the "three remarkable tapestries [were] glowing like jewels in the marble-clad foyer".
He was a friend of Jean Lurcat
.
His work used a restrained range of colors in rigorously abstract designs.
Mathieu Matégot died at Angers
, France in in February 2001.
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
designer and material artist. He was one of the most renowned French designers of the 1950s.
Early years
Matégot was born on 4 April 1910 at Tápió-Sully, a village about 20 kilometres (12.4 mi) from BudapestBudapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
in Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
.
He studied at the school of fine arts and architecture in Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
between 1925 and 1929.
He created sets for the National Theater.
He then traveled in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
before settling in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in 1931.
There he took jobs that included making sets for the Folies Bergères
Folies Bergères
The Folies Bergère established in 1869 in Paris, France, is a music hall which was at the height of its fame and popularity from the 1890s through the 1920s. the institution is still in business.-History:...
, window dressing at the Galeries Lafayette
Galeries Lafayette
- History :In 1893 Théophile Bader and his cousin Alphonse Kahn opened a fashion store in a small haberdasher's shop at the corner of rue La Fayette and the Chaussée d'Antin, Paris. In 1896, the company purchased the entire building at n°1 rue La Fayette and in 1905 the buildings at n°38, 40 et...
, designing women's dresses and, in the late 1930s, creating tapestries.
In 1933 he started to create his first examples of rattan furniture mounted on metal frames.
Matégot volunteered for the French army at the start of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
(1939–1945) and was taken prisoner, being freed in 1944.
As a prisoner, he worked in a plant manufacturing mechanical accessories, where he learned the techniques and potential of sheet metal. After being released he became naturalized as a French citizen.
Furniture designer
Following the war, Matégot established a workshop for making handcrafted furniture using a variety of materials such as metal, rattan, glass, formica, and perforated sheet metal. The workshop made chairs, tables, sideboards, desks and other objects that he had designed.At first based in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, the workshop later moved to Casablanca
Casablanca
Casablanca is a city in western Morocco, located on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Grand Casablanca region.Casablanca is Morocco's largest city as well as its chief port. It is also the biggest city in the Maghreb. The 2004 census recorded a population of 2,949,805 in the prefecture...
.
All the furniture and other objects had clever, practical and amusing designs. Distributed to decoration shops in editions of 200, his work was extremely successful.
Matégot designed the three-legged "Nagasaki" chair in 1954 and the "Copacabana" armchair (1955/1956), both made of steel tube and perforated sheet metal, characteristic materials whose use Matégot pioneered. The Nagasaki chair is now held in the design collection at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris. The Copacabana armchair is in the design collection at the Centre Georges Pompidou
Centre Georges Pompidou
Centre Georges Pompidou is a complex in the Beaubourg area of the 4th arrondissement of Paris, near Les Halles, rue Montorgueil and the Marais...
, Beaubourg, Paris.
Matégot furnished or decorated buildings such as the Hotel de France in Conakry
Conakry
Conakry is the capital and largest city of Guinea. Conakry is a port city on the Atlantic Ocean and serves as the economic, financial and cultural centre of Guinea with a 2009 population of 1,548,500...
, Guinea
Guinea
Guinea , officially the Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea , it is today sometimes called Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from its neighbour Guinea-Bissau. Guinea is divided into eight administrative regions and subdivided into thirty-three prefectures...
, the Drugstrore Publicis in Paris and the Maison de l'ORTF in Paris (1962).
Return to tapestry
Matégot continued to work on tapestry while engaged in other design activities, and a 1962 book La Demeure et les Éditions des deux mondes présentent les tapisseries de Mathieu Matégot documented some of his more important works to that date.In early 1960s, Matégot left furniture design to devote himself full time to tapestry work, becoming one of leaders of the modern movement in French tapestry. His tapestries today hang in many major buildings.
For example, three of his works are in the National Library of Australia
National Library of Australia
The National Library of Australia is the largest reference library of Australia, responsible under the terms of the National Library Act for "maintaining and developing a national collection of library material, including a comprehensive collection of library material relating to Australia and the...
.
When the building was opened, the "three remarkable tapestries [were] glowing like jewels in the marble-clad foyer".
He was a friend of Jean Lurcat
Jean Lurçat
Jean Lurçat was a French artist noted for his role in the revival of contemporary tapestry.-Biography:He was born in Bruyères, Vosges, the son of Lucien Jean Baptiste Lurçat and Marie Emilie Marguerite L'Hote. He was the brother of André Lurçat, who became an architect...
.
His work used a restrained range of colors in rigorously abstract designs.
Mathieu Matégot died at Angers
Angers
Angers is the main city in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France about south-west of Paris. Angers is located in the French region known by its pre-revolutionary, provincial name, Anjou, and its inhabitants are called Angevins....
, France in in February 2001.