Yves Saint Laurent Pierre Bergé - Christie's

As Art Deco evolved through the 1920s towards
the synthesis of luxury, simplicity and elegance,
the style found its perfect champion in Eugène
Printz. From his beginnings as a cabinetmaker for
Pierre Chareau, he rose to prominence as a
designer and decorator with a strong vision. The
Printz style stands out for its independent
character and its inventive and idiosyncratic
touches, adapted to modern techniques while
representing a continuum of great French
traditions. Ernest Tisserand summarised this in a
1928 article in L’Art vivant: ‘…one also has to
emphasise the quality of his furniture. It is hard to
imagine anything better. Eugène Printz... strives
for perfection in aesthetics as well as in technical
execution. Conscious of the great cabinetmakers of
the past, he aspires to match or even surpass
them. Our children will find his works
prominently displayed in museums, and his
furniture will pass like that of Boulle and of
Riesener through the hands of collectors and
auctioneers.’ From the collection of Yves Saint
Laurent and Pierre Bergé, through the hands of
74
Eugène Printz
Christie’s, the present piece is a perfect vindication
of Tisserand’s shrewd prognosis.
This long bookcase, executed circa 1930 in palm
wood veneer, reveals much about the 18th-century
devices that were dear to Printz and that he so
successfully accommodated within the functionalist
approach of the era in which the piece was
conceived. A clever concealed mechanism allows
each of the eight folding doors that compose the
façade to reveal either a bookcase or a display
cabinet, to be configured in a variety of ways, as
desired. The careful attention given to choice of
material and form so distinctive of the work of
Printz is evidenced also in the finesse of such
details as the handles and keyholes. Printz
expressed his ambition succinctly: ‘I want my
furniture to be alive.’ Each piece of furniture that he
conceived reveals its autonomous strengths as well
as the ability of works by Printz to coexist
harmoniously with pieces that reflect other aesthetic
approaches, as was so effectively demonstrated in
the rue de Babylone.
– Emmanuelle Karsenti
EUGÈNE PRINTZ (1889–1948)
A large bookcase, circa 1930, palm wood veneered, sycamore interior, oxidized brass drawer handles,
43 1 ⁄4 in. (110 cm.) high, 102 3 ⁄8 in. (260 cm.) wide, 16 3 ⁄8 in. (41.5 cm.) deep. Estimate: 3400,000–600,000