Couture bedroom of Jeanne Lanvin, circa 1920-1925
The Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris reopened three years ago after a massive renovation. One of the features of the renovation is the meticulously reconstructed Lanvin suite of rooms. When the Lanvin home was demolished in 1965, the complete decoration and furniture of the boudoir, bedroom and bathroom was given to the Musée des Arts Décoratifs by Prince Louis de Polignac.
Jeanne Lanvin, painted by Edouard Vuillard in 1933
Jeanne Lanvin, one of the most illustrious Paris couturières of the twentieth century, hired Armand Albert Rateau to create an elegant and feminine sanctuary of Art Deco design in the bedroom suite of her town house at 16 rue Barbey de Jouy. Lanvin was so delighted by the results that Rateau was commissioned to design her two country homes, her boutiques, her theater and her iconic Arpège perfume bottle, as well as named head of the Lanvin-Décoration department of interior design (established in 1920).
Perfume advertisement, 1927
Cornflower blue was Lanvin’s signature color, and it appeared so frequently in her clothing designs that it became known as “Lanvin Blue.” Used for her bedroom in a monochromatic color scheme, it achieves a striking yet reserved effect. The white-silk-embroidered fabric used on the walls, draperies and bedding was made by the same seamstresses that embellished her robes de style.
The dominant motif of the room is the daisy (Lanvin’s daughter was named Marguerite, the French word for daisy). The flower appears throughout the suite heavily stylized in fabrics, carved in wood and cast in bronze.
The tufted low-slung Louis-Louis chairs nod to 18th-century France, and the bronze furniture (torcheres, low table and coiffeuse) hearken ancient Pompeii (a major influence on Rateau’s style). Yet each piece was designed by Rateau himself, thus the variety of styles blend seemlessly with one another. The balanced and diminutive furniture arrangement around the hearth creates a sense of warmth and intimacy, an ideal area for either intimate conversation or quiet solitude over a cup of tea before bedtime.
Curtains called portières hang over the doorways, a popular design element up to the 19th century. Their function was to keep out drafts, muffle noise, and make a room feel cozier while adding luxury and style. But quite possibly the most stylish features of the room are the ornate carved door surrounds and baseboards, elaborately over scale with punched out voids that expose the blue and white embroidered floral walls beneath.
Lanvin’s salle de bain is a vision of quintessential Art Deco style, with geometric mosaic tiled floors in cream & black marble and marble covered walls, with a carving of an idyllic forest scene above the bathtub. The hand-carved Italian marble pedestal sink and gigantic round tub call to mind ancient Rome, exquisitely simple yet bursting with opulence. The bronze fixtures, given a patina to make them look ancient, were also designed by Rateau, and connect with elements from the bedroom. The simplicity of the bathroom, devoid of any decoration, aside from a few Rateau designed Arpège perfume bottles, offers a serene contrast from the vibrancy of the connected bedroom and boudoir.
Today, pieces of Rateau designed furniture and objets d’art are highly collectible (In 2006, a pair of his bronze planters were sold at Christie’s auction house for a record 4.18 M €) and the recent collection of Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé at Christie’s had more than a few Rateau pieces. With this in mind, there should be great interest in the Lanvin period rooms, as they helped to secure Rateau’s position as a recognized master of Art Deco and as one of the most successful designers of his time.
