RUHLMANN
Galerie Guelfucci collection and archives
The Guelfucci Gallery features a significant collection of furniture and objects by Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann (1879 – 1933), with over 80 pieces, including 20 exceptional, rare, and unique items. The collection also includes 350 unpublished archival documents (books, archival photographs, personal letters, furniture plans, original preparatory gouaches for approved projects, including wallpaper designs, etc.).
Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann is considered the godfather of French Art Deco. His furniture is regarded as the epitome of French furniture design, both for its impeccable forms and for his careful combination of the most precious materials. He sought to return to the traditional purity of form and the sophistication of French taste after the exuberant era of Art Nouveau. His designs were elegant and noble, and his artistic expression was reflected in the harmony of the proportions of the furniture as well as in the unobtrusive decorations. The designs of Ruhlmann are one of the reasons for the existence of the Gallery Guelfucci.
É.J. Ruhlmann, “L'hotel d'un riche collectionneur”, studio plan for the 'Exposition internationale des Arts Décoratifs', Paris, 1925, Ruhlmann Archives, Galerie Guelfucci collection
“L'hotel du Collectionneur”, drawing by Architect Pierre Patout for the 'Exposition internationale des Arts Décoratifs', Paris, 1925, Ruhlmann Archives, Galerie Guelfucci collection
'Lasalle' model 2130B chest of drawers by Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann, circa 1932,
Ruhlmann Archives, Galerie Guelfucci collection
“Through his extraordinary personality and the incomparable quality of his productions, Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann dominates the entire Art Deco period. He personifies the style of 1925 and is its initiator. As early as 1913, his first works already express an extraordinary mastery of forms, the rigor of lines, the sobriety of decorations, and the impeccable execution of creations that will bring him fame.
I appreciate this reference to the past regarding Ruhlmann, whom his contemporaries nicknamed 'the Riesner of 1925.' His work, like that of the prestigious Louis XVI cabinetmaker, is deeply rooted in the great tradition of French furniture.
Far from pastiche, he designs pure forms, all of balance and logic, which succeed by inheritance those of the past.
His earliest work, which he presented in his first participations at exhibitions, is one of elegance, purity of forms, great refinement, with curves barely perceptible and nervy lines.
Over time, his style becomes more defined, without losing the creative spontaneity that characterizes him. In contrast to his models, which were mainly focused on the refinement of lines, he also produced numerous pieces of furniture that were solidly built and architecturally structured, moving toward a greater sobriety, sacrificing grace for nobility.
Ruhlmann was not only a genius artist but also a man of high intellectual and moral value, spiritual, quick-witted, and humorous. His lavish receptions were the talk of all Paris at the time.”
Laurent Guelfucci, 25 - ANS D'ARTS DÉCORATIFS, Guelfucci Gallery, Berlin, 2023, p. 23