Proust Armchair (1978) – Luxury Comes in All Forms

Studio Alchimia in Milan, founded in 1976 by several of Italy’s most prominent radical designers, began producing furniture that year. Relying on the writings of Alessandro Mendini, editor of the magazine Modo, they rejected the utopian, modernist approach to design and instead opted for symbolism and craftsmanship.

Bau.Haus Collection

In Alchimia’s first Bau.Haus collection unveiled in 1979, Mendini’s Proust armchair was perhaps the most unexpected of the works shown. An antique Victorian armchair was re-created by Mendini, who hand-painted the entire piece, including the carved wooden frame and the upholstery, in an impressionistic brushstroke pattern. The other artists used contemporary materials and shapes that appeared modern but eccentric.

Comfortable enough for Proust

Mendini stated that his goal was to design a chair that would have been comfortable enough for Marcel Proust to sit in. However, he made a vague reference to Proust by using an allover painted pattern on a period-style chair, referencing the fact that Proust had owned Impressionist paintings. Like all of Alchimia’s products, Mendini’s Proust armchairs were made in small numbers and individually painted to express the collective’s unease with mass production and the commercialisation of contemporary design.

Sources/ Related Reading

Byars, M., & Riley, T. (2004). The design encyclopedia. Laurence King Publishing. https://amzn.to/3ElmSlL

Droog Design: Spirit of the Nineties. (1998). Netherlands: 010 Publishers. https://amzn.to/45O2rMP

Encyclopedia of Contemporary Italian Culture. (2023). United Kingdom: Taylor & Francis. https://amzn.to/3zx1ZpQ

The Grove Encyclopedia of Decorative Arts: Two-volume Set. (2006). United Kingdom: Oxford University Press, USA. https://amzn.to/3L3QDw2

Hiesinger, K., & Marcus, G. (2004). Landmarks of Twentieth Century Design. https://amzn.to/4cnw9L1

Strauss, C., Celant, G. (2020). Radical: Italian Design 1965-1985 : the Dennis Freedman Collection. United Kingdom: Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. https://amzn.to/3WexuhH

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