Gilbert Poillerat (1902 - 1988) French Designer and Metalworker

Education

Until 1921, he studied engraving at the École Boulle in Paris.

Biography

Between 1921 and 1927, he worked as a designer and creator of wrought-iron furniture and furnishings for metalworker Edgar Brandt on Paris’s Rue Marat.

1927, he started working for Baudet, Donon et Roussel, a carpentry and metal construction workshop. He was in charge of the new wrought iron section. He designed and manufactured the Grillework, tables, chairs, consoles, screens, lighting, and firedogs. Poillerat’s metalwork was rendered in characteristic winding calligraphic forms in various media ranging from jewellery to clothing.

He created an ornamental door with folk scenes for a scholarly group in Maisons-Alfort in 1934, low-cost jewellery for couturier Jacques Heim, and a bronze door for the ocean liner Normandie in 1935.

Pair of Gilbert Poillerat Style Parcel-Gilt and Black Iron Wall Mirrors

'Astrolabes et Passementeries' A Marble and Gilt-Wrought-Iron Table, circa 1946 by Gilbert Poillerat

Work for the Bibliotheque Nationale and the Palais de Chaillot were among the commissions. He established his workshop and became a professor at the Ecole Nationale des Arts Décoratifs in 1946. After abandoning furniture and furnishings, he turned to monumental wrought-iron work, completing commissions for public and governmental buildings and the Palais de l’Elysée.

In 1957, he designed the ironwork on the facade of Strasbourg’s new synagogue. He frequently collaborated with Jacques Adnet.

Exhibition

Poillerat’s grille was first seen at the 1928 Salon d’Automne, where he presented his work for the first time.

Sources

‘Astrolabes et Passementeries’ A Marble and Gilt-Wrought-Iron Table, circa 1946. GILBERT POILLERAT (1902-1988). (n.d.). https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-5328840.

Byars, M., & Riley, T. (2004). The design encyclopedia. Laurence King Publishing.

Gilbert Poillerat (1902-1988) – Wrought Iron Lamps. AnticStore. (n.d.). https://www.anticstore.art/84476P.

Pair of Gilbert Poillerat Style Parcel-Gilt and Black Iron Wall Mirrors. For Sale at 1stDibs. (n.d.). https://www.1stdibs.com/furniture/mirrors/wall-mirrors/pair-of-gilbert-poillerat-style-parcel-gilt-black-iron-wall-mirrors/id-f_15427272/.

Additional Reading

Brevik-Zender, H. (2018). Fashion, modernity, and materiality in France: From Rousseau to Art Deco. State University of New York.

Chadenet, S. (2001). French furniture: From Louis Xiii to Art Deco. Bulfinch.

Delacroix, H. (2017). Art Deco interiors. Dover Publications, Inc.

Goetz, A. (2021). Presidential Residences in France. FLAMMARION.

Goss, J. (2014). French art deco. Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Hardy Alain-René. (2003). Art Deco textiles: The French designers. Thames & Hudson.

Verlet, P. (1991). French furniture of the Eighteenth Century. University Press of Virginia.

Wannenes, G. (2000). Eighteenth Century French furniture. Editions Vausor.

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Gilbert Poillerat (1902 – 1988) French Designer and Metalworker