Design from the Galeries Lafayette department store's La Maitrise workshop.
Maurice Dufrène (1876-1955) was a French designer who specialized in furniture and interiors.
He was the artistic director of the La Maitrise (perhaps meaning the Master Workshop) at Paris's Galeries Lafayette in the 1920s and '30s. It's difficult to figure out if Dufrène actually designed the fabrics or supervised a staff of like-minded individuals.
Dufrene furniture
An ivory chair
The furnishing prints I've seen on his chairs have a
certain sensibility that defines French modernism.
Dufrène followed the trends in French design, moving from Art Nouveau's curving ornament to a more modern minimalism. Throughout his work you find an emphasis on line.
China designed by Dufrene
He published plates with his earlier Art Nouveau design ideas.
Two colorways of a later Dufrène design
Dufrène room at a 1937 design exposition
Sprig carpet, mid-30s.
Order a copy of this design:
This piece is attributed to Dufrène by Christies.
Note the insects among the flowers.
These are awesome prints! I had to click on the last chair so I could see the insects better . . . I was looking for something small . . . studied it for a few seconds before my eye actually saw the BIG insects!
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