Creators

Creator of light fittings and furniture.

Born on 2^nd May 1892 in Bruck, Bohemia, Jean Perzel trained as a stained-glass artist in Munich and carried out a tour of Europe by foot before moving to Paris in 1910. He started work with a master glassmaker who, after a year sent him to carry out important works in Algiers. A volunteer in 1914, he came back to Paris at the end of the war to resume the profession of his father and grandfather, both of whom were glassmakers. He worked initially with Jacques Gruber and produced his first lamps in the style of the ancient clear windows of Roman churches, seeking to handle electric light as the artisans of another time had handled sunlight, hiding the light source. He thus became interested in materials that would allow the filtering of light, such as pearlized and frosted glass. From 1923, he det up his showroom and his workshop at rue de la cité Universitaire in the 14^th arrondissement of Paris, the road where he would stay, settling definitively in 1931 in the building which the architect Michel Roux-Spitz would build for him. By transforming the conceptions that governed domestic lighting, he rapidly became one of the most important creators of the era. Exclusively a designer and producer of light fittings, he interested himself in the uniform diffusion of light and, to this end, developed a special sanded glass, on the surface of which was applied an enamel coating. He obtained the distinctive opaque and milky look. He would use it later with lightly tinted enamels (beige or pink) depending on the needs of an interior. The mountings for his lights were of metal, sometimes nickel-plated or lacquered.

His very substantial output included table lamps, standard lamps, chandeliers, wall lights, ceiling pendants, but also, on occasion, illuminated tables, columns and ceiling panels that were particularly innovative. His creations all had a geometric basis, both in their overall shape and in their constituent elements.

From 1929 he participated in the outfitting of the Palace of the Maharajah of Indore for which he produced numerous light fittings.

He was also commissioned to produce lighting for collections designed by other decorators, such as, for example, Jallot, Rollin, the Tétard brothers and the architect Michel Roux-Spitz, but also for monuments such as the Palais de la Société des Nations in Geneva, the Cathedral of Luxembourg and the station of Mulhouse.

He also had a large international clientele, including Henry Ford, the Savoy Hotel in London, the King of Siam in Bangkok and the Court of Belgium.

He died in Paris in 1986.