Biography of Jean Pascaud (1903–1996)
Among the most important furniture and interior designers of the 20th century is Jean Pascaud. Though Pascaud’s style was more conventional in his day and embraced both old and new concepts, his work looks ultramodern today.
In 1903
Pascaud was born in Rouen. He received his engineering degree from the Ecole Centrale des Arts et Manufactures in 1924. Pascaud had a degree in engineering, but he had a passion for ornamental arts.
Pascaud’s passion for ornamental arts influenced both his furniture design and his subsequent foray into interior design in the late 1920s. Pascaud’s initial furniture designs were created in 1927 thanks to the encouragement of his father-in-law, Auguste Bluysen, President of the Societe des Architectes Modernes.
After Pascaud had made it into the Societe des Architectes modernes, he started showcasing his work in the realm of furniture design in a number of salons, such as the Salon des Tuileries, the Salon d’Automne, and the Salon des Artistes Décorateurs.
Pascaud was a traditionalist, just as his peers Jacques Adnet, André Arbus, and Paul Dupré-Lafon. It can occasionally be challenging to distinguish his furniture from that by Royère, Arbus, Dominique, or Pascal in the absence of a signature or supporting documentation. Pascaud’s aesthetic was characterized by technical mastery combined with simplicity, which communicated both classic and modern taste. Pascaud quickly broke with the Modernist movement that gained popularity in the 1930s and held the views that originality and well-proven design were essential to the success of furniture in the past and future. He is renowned for using exotic woods, such as violet wood, and opulent veneers.
American walnut and palisander were frequently adorned with metal banding for striking contrast or parchment and galuchat for added elegance. In the style of Ruhlmann, he also employed sculptural gilt focal medallions.
Pascaud placed his restrained, conservative furniture in a context that gave it a necessary, cozy feel. In 1935, for instance, Pascaud displayed his furniture in a bedroom with mauve fabric for the curtains, gold-lacquered doors, and grey silk for the pillows and upholstery. Pascaud intended the opulent, conventional setting to accentuate and highlight his artwork.
Pascaud continued to work on his designs even after he ceased showing his work at the Salons in the early 1930s. At the 1937 International Exposition, he was awarded the highly desired Grand Prix. Pascaud worked together
alongside numerous other designers, such as Pierre Lardin (engraved mirrors), Mme Bouissou (decorative glass panels), and Leon Lang (paneling). Pascaud gained notoriety as a designer and decorator during the 1940s, and he attracted a distinguished clientele that included both private and public individuals. His already excellent reputation as a designer and decorator was further cemented when he was given a project for the ocean liners Pasteur and Normandie.
Pascaud worked with other designers in the 1950s to create the Swedish and Czech Embassies as well as the French Embassy in Mexico. He was asked to create an ensemble for la tour Francois 1 at Rambouillet in 1951 by the Mobilier National.
1996 saw the end of Jean Pascaud’s distinguished career.