Francis Jourdain

Vocation

French painter, furniture maker, interior designer, maker of ceramics, and other decorative arts, and a left-wing political activist. In 1911 Jourdain began to design furniture, following the teachings of Adolf Loos (1847–1933). He opened Les Ateliers Modernes in 1912, a small furniture factory. He designed modular wooden furniture for working-class people, advertising in the socialist paper L'Humanité. With his built-in furniture and storage systems he was able to make small areas appear spacious. He owned a furniture shop by 1919, Chez Francis Jourdain. At the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes (International Exposition of Modern Industrial and Decorative Arts) Jourdain's "Physical Culture Room", unlike other exhibits, did not emphasize luxury living. His design used smooth wood paneling on the walls and ceilings that resembled riveted sheets of metal. He worked with Robert Mallet-Stevens (1886–1945) between 1925 and 1930. Starting in the 1930s Jourdain became involved in politics and eventually joined the French Communist Party. In 1939 he was Secretary General of the World Committee Against War and Fascism. Jourdain was a prolific writer on art in the period after World War II (1939–45). At the end of his life, Jourdain acted as president of the Secours populaire français. He died in Paris at 10 a.m. on 31 December 1958 at the age of 82. Link to Wikipedia biography