Pierre Paulin for Artifort

PIERRE PAULIN (France, 1927 - 2009) for Artifort,
Armchair "F675, Butterfly".
Cognac color leather.
In very good condition.
Measurements: 68 x 81 x 67 cm.
This emblematic armchair is model F675 "Butterfly", an outstanding creation of the French designer Pierre Paulin for the Dutch firm Artifort, conceived in the 1960s. Made here in patinated cognac leather, stretched over a chrome-plated tubular frame with a marked geometry, it perfectly embodies the formal boldness and the quest for comfort characteristic of the modernist design of the period. With its taut lines and suspended seat, the F675 offers a feeling of lightness and enveloping comfort. The original leather, carefully treated in the workshop, has a unique patina that bears witness to the passage of time, while enhancing the raw and elegant character of the piece. Its minimalist metal structure, in the shape of a cross and without superfluous elements, gives it a sculptural and aerial silhouette. Today, out of production, since Artifort does not publish this model, this F675 is a true collector's item, destined for lovers of 20th century design and connoisseurs of Pierre Paulin's work.
The designer Pierre Paulin, considered one of the most important representatives of French design in the mid-twentieth century, and especially in the seventies, began working with the firm Thonet in 1952. During these years he would discover the use of new industrial materials, following the line of Eames, Saarinen and Bertoia. Only four years later, in 1956, he was invited to join the firm Artifort, where Paulin would find the support and means necessary to carry out his most personal designs. He generally titled his designs with numbers, following his idea of simplicity and rejection of any lyrical effect. At the end of the 1960s he benefited from the collaboration with outstanding craftsmen in a new research and creation workshop, "Le Mobilier National", with which he carried out the renovation of the Denon wing of the Louvre Museum.