Robert Mallet-Stevens

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Villa Paul Poiret - Mézy-sur-Seine - 1926

Robert Mallet-Stevens (March 24, 1886 - February 8, 1945) was a French architect and designer. Along with Le Corbusier he is widely regarded as the most influential figure in French architecture in the period between the two World Wars.

Mallet-Stevens was born in Paris in a house called Maison-Laffitte (designed by Francois Mansart in the 17th century). His father and his grandfather were art collectors in Paris and Brussels. He received his formal training at the École Speciale d'Architecture in Paris, during which he wrote Guerande about relationships between the different forms of art. In 1924 he published a magazine called La Gazette Des 7 Arts and at the same time with the help of Ricciotto Canudo founded the Club des amis du 7 art. A Paris street in the 16th arrondissement, Rue Mallet-Stevens, was built by him in the 1920s and has on it six houses designed by him.^[1]

In addition to designing shops, factories, a fire station in Paris, apartment buildings, private homes, and interiors, he was one of the first architects to show an interest in cinema. He designed film sets and his design for Marcel L'Herbier's silent film L'Inhumaine (1924) is considered a masterpiece.

Surrealist photographer and filmmaker Man Ray made a film inspired by his design for the buildings named "Villa Noailles" entitled The Mysteries of the Chateau de De (Les Mystères du Château du Dé).

During his career he assembled a team of artisans and craftspeople who worked with him: interior designers, sculptors, master glaziers, lighting specialists,and ironsmiths.^[2]

Mallet-Stevens ordered that his archives be destroyed upon his death. His wishes were honored and his memory fell into obscurity. A French exhibit of his drawings, models, and actual works at the Centre Pompidou in 2005 sparked public interest in his contributions.