The French furniture and interior designer Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann [1879 – 1933] is known for his aesthetic refinement, sumptuous materials and impeccable craftsmanship. His masterful work merged luxury with functionality in complete harmony, which in turn created a formal elegance enabling him to be a leading contributor to the Art Deco movement.
He is mostly celebrated for his handcrafted furniture pieces made from the rarest woods such as Macassar ebony, Brazilian rosewood, and amboyna burl, usually in combination with each other. Ruhlmann’s love of these materials created soft but striking background patterns, without focusing attention on the wood itself.
While the modern decorative arts scene in France followed the aesthetic trends of the Art Nouveau and the Arts and Crafts’ movements, Ruhlmann focused on much simpler forms. He used gentle, almost imperceptible curves which beautifully supported his choice of materials rather than competing with them. Ruhlmann wanted his silhouettes to act as a backdrop or a secondary design element to the materials he selected, allowing the natural patterns, grain, and inherent properties to be the superior focus within his pieces.
Due to his use of luxury materials his pieces were considered to be prohibitively expensive and at the time faced criticism as they were solely commissioned for the newly wealthy class of post-World War I Paris. However, through their repeated patronage, they made him a successful and sought-after designer of the time and continues to be celebrated today.
Through Ruhlmann’s unique approach to craftsmanship, he revolutionised our consideration of exquisitely crafted fine furniture as an art form in and of itself. His insistence on quality and integrity emphasised and enhanced our desire to live amongst beautiful objects.
Due to Ruhlmann’s simple and refined solutions, along with his mastery of material combinations, his furniture to this day remains historically incomparable.