Serge Mouille (1922- 1988) French Lighting Designer

Serge Mouille (1922- 1988) was a French Lighting Designer born and active in Paris. Serge Mouille began studying silversmithing with Gabriel Lacroix in 1937. After four years of silversmithing school, he worked for various companies, opened his metal workshop, and assisted Gabriel Lacroix. It was in 1952 that he created the Zebra, a revolutionary stainless steel automobile body. This car was more of a challenge than anything else and never was intended for production.

Biography

Jacques Adnet, known for his stylish Hermes designs, soon commissioned him to research and develop lighting designs in response to the complicated Italian designs that flooded the 1950s market. The same year, he became the School of Applied Arts in Paris director.

1953 saw the birth of his most iconic design, the three-arm standing lamp with aluminium “nipple” shades. The “nipple” hid the wiring deep inside the lamp’s head, allowing the bulb to reflect off the interior of the sensuously shaped head. This idea was widely copied in late 1950s mass-market designs. Mouille made each lamp by hand, never using machines to increase production. The intrinsic appeal of Mouille’s lamps was that he trained in silversmithing and considered them art.

Lighting design for a cruise ship lounge, salon lighting for Christian Dior in Paris, Es.to HQ in La D6fense (near Paris), the Republic of Central Africa embassy hall, and the Bizerte Cathedral in Tunisia. From 1956, Mouille lamps were shown in the Steph Simon Gallery in Paris, alongside works by Charlotte Perriand, Isamu Noguchi, and Jean Prouvé. Collaboration with Steph Simon forced him to solve lighting issues, leading to new models favouring modernist architects and collectors worldwide. Because Mouille’s designs captivated him, the actor Henry Fonda camped out on the steps of his workshop until Mouille took him in for a meeting.

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Mouille created a new line of lamps called “colonnes” (columns) in 1962 and produced them for two years. An attempt to sell them through Knoll International failed due to Florence Knoll’s opposition. However, Mouille lighting orders increased. Mouille stopped designing in 1964 and became an educator at the School of Applied Arts. Mouille, who never stopped teaching and only made lighting by hand, couldn’t keep up. Either he had to stop teaching or industrialise his lamp production. It was 1988.

No one knows Serge Mouille’s entire production, but it is limited, and unique models sell for six figures. Sadly, there are now more intentionally aged copies than originals.

Recognition

Serge Mouille was awarded the Charles Plumet Prize (1955), the honorary diploma of the Brussels International Exhibition (1958), a gold medal from the Encouragement of National Industry (1962), and the Paris Special Medal for the Handmade Art Profession (1963). During his intensive research at the School of Applied Art, he created monumental sculptures, miniature jewellery, and rare furniture. He was constantly asked to exhibit his work, especially after he stopped producing. His widow keeps his spirit alive in France and worldwide with a new edition created with her husband’s same tools.

Source

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

F. (n.d.). Designers: Serge Mouille | Biography, art, designer works | KOOKU. KOOKU. https://www.kookudesign.com/designer/128/serge-mouille

Schleuning, S., Strauss, C., Horne, S., MacLeod, M., Perkins, B. L. (2021). Electrifying Design: A Century of Lighting. United Kingdom: Museum of Fine Arts.

Serge Mouille. (2022, January 25). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serge_Mouille

Serge Mouille. (n.d.). Andlight. Retrieved August 8, 2023, from https://andlight.com/shop/serge-mouille-582c1.html

Additional Reading – Silverware

Dolan, M. (1993). 1830s-1990’s American Sterling Silver Flatware: A Collector’s Identification & Value Guide. United States: Books Americana. https://amzn.to/3mYhbWW

Haslam, M., & Haslam, M. (1995). Marks & Monograms: The Decorative Arts, 1880-1960. Collins & Brown.

Helliwell, S. (1988). Collecting Small Silverware. United Kingdom: Phaidon-Christie’s. https://amzn.to/3TnVSdA

Krekel-Aalberse, A. (1989). Art Nouveau and Art Deco silver. Abrams.

Langford, J. (1998). Silver: A Practical Guide to Collecting Silverware and Identifying Hallmarks. Australia: Sandstone Books. https://amzn.to/3LytDqD

Newman, H. (1987). An illustrated dictionary of silverware: 2,373 entries relating to British and North American wares, decorative techniques and styles, and leading designers and makers, principally from c.1500 to the present. United Kingdom: Thames and Hudson. https://amzn.to/40jlY3p

Rainwater, D. T., Fuller, M., & Fuller, C. (2004). Encyclopedia of American Silver Manufacturers. Schiffer Pub.

Rinker, H. L. (1997). Silverware of the 20th Century: The Top 250 Patterns. United States: House of Collectibles. https://amzn.to/3JLVUsu

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