CHARLOTTE PERRIAND (1903-1999) 'Maison du Mexique' Bookcasedesigned 1952, manufactured by Les Ateliers Jean Prouvé, Francepine, painted 'diamond point motif' aluminiumheight 63 1/4in (160.5cm); width 72 5/8in (184.5cm); depth 12 1/4in (31cm)

CHARLOTTE PERRIAND (1903-1999)
'Maison du Mexique' Bookcasedesigned 1952, manufactured by Les Ateliers Jean Prouvé, Francepine, painted 'diamond point motif' aluminiumheight 63 1/4in (160.5cm); width 72 5/8in (184.5cm); depth 12 1/4in (31cm)

ProvenanceDorotheum, Vienna, 2015Private American CollectionLiterature Jacques Barsac, 'Charlotte Perriand, Complete Works', Volume II: 1940 - 1955, Paris,; Zurich, [2014], pp. 388-395, examples illustrated pp. 394-395Mary McLeod, 'Charlotte Perriand, An Art of Living', New York, 2003, pp. 230, 231, pl. 42-44Jacques Barsac, 'Charlotte Perriand, Un art d'habiter', Paris, 2005, pp. 368-373Charlotte Perriand, 'L'aventure Japonaise', exhibition catalogue, Musée d'Art moderne de Saint-Etienne, February 23 - May 26, 2013, p. 141 After some negotiation, Charlotte Perriand's collaboration with the Ateliers Jean Prouvé began in March 1952, and the large project for the Cité Universitaire of Paris was placed at the top of Perriand's agenda. For the Maison du Mexique, a student residence designed by Jorge Medellin and built in 1952, Perriand took charge of the design of the furnishings of the student's rooms, the cafeteria, and the gallery. According to the layout of the rooms provided by the Mexican architects, to maximise space in the small dormitory rooms, the Mexique bookcase was to function as a room divider, in place of a masonry wall. The design precursors included the bookcase Perriand designed for sculptor Jan Martel, from 1930, and the Perriand-Jeanneret bookcase on wooden blocks, 1940-1947, both of which incorporated sliding doors and staggered rectangular rows. In addition to the Mexique, a similar "Tunisie'' bookcase was designed along the same principles, and installed against the wall in each of the forty dormitory rooms of the Maison de la Tunisie. There were seventy-seven Mexique bookcases made, in five different color combinations, one for each of the seventy seven dormitory rooms of the Maison de Mexique. Together they represent two of Perriand's most iconic creations - systems that, by utilizing standardized components on a large scale, could be adapted and varied for other furniture or interior schemes, particularly those for commercial and residential spaces.