Collection Online
Medium
lacquered metal, steel, lighting components
Measurements
83.0 × 110.0 cm diameter
Place/s of Execution
Paris, France
Accession Number
2019.209
Department
International Decorative Arts
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased, NGV Supporters of Contemporary Design and Architecture, NGV Supporters of Decorative Arts, NGV Foundation Patrons, 2019
© Robert Mathieu
Gallery location
Contemporary Art gallery
Level 3, NGV International
About this work

Robert Mathieu was one of the most talented lighting designers of the 1950s. By 1949 he had founded his own company and exhibited his first works at 98 Boulevard Charonne, Paris, which would remain his flagship store throughout his career. In 1955 Mathieu bought the logo ‘Le Luminaire Parisien’ and became the head of three establishments in Paris. Renowned for a high level of precision manufacture, Mathieu’s designs favoured elegant geometries composed of lines and simple volumes. The inventive use of multiple lamp shades and brass rod armatures are synonymous with his designs.