EDGAR BRANDT
FOR SALE IN OUR COLLECTION
SOLD
Trained in the Ecole Professionnelle de Vierzon, he set up an ironmongery in Paris . At the seminal 1925 Exposition des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes in Paris, Brandt's numerous gates (the monumental gate of the exposition), doors, tables, and other pieces, notably the enormous screen L'Oasis, his most famous work, dazzled visitors from all over the world. He even participated to the Hôtel du Collectionneur of Jacques-Emile Ruhlmann. Combining motifs from ancient Egyptian and classical Greek sources, stylized flora and fauna such as cone-fires, branches, fruits, birds, human faces, and machine-inspired geometric forms, Brandt's signature vocabulary epitomizes the Art Deco style.
He created for great houses and liners: gates, balustrades, floor lamps and chandeliers, in bronze, hammered wrought iron, steel, as tables and stands with marble tops. He was a virtuouso at using several materials, often combining wrought iron with bronze or steel, and patinating the metals in a rich variety of tones, including gold and silver, to achieve stunning results.
Original photo by F.Harand taken from our original Edgar Brandt's catalogue
At the height of his career, Brandt operated a large atelier and showroom at 101, Boulevard Murat in Paris and ran a successfull gallery that featured his own work as well as that of his contemporaries. In addition to private commissions and lines of luxury, items for the home such as grilles, fire screens, doors, tables, consoles, andirons, bronze vessels, and a wide array of lighting fixtures, the Brandt's atelier executed the ironwork for numerous large-scale projects, such as the Grand Théâtre Municipal in Nancy, the ocean liner Paris and Alger, the Mollien staircase at the Louvre, several war memorials in France such as the Unknow Soldier Tomb that is just under the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, and the headquarters of of the Cheney Brothers textile company at the Madison-Belmont Building in New York.
Then, his style changed a little, more geometric forms, purer patterns. He opened a gallery in New York and another one at the Boulevard Malesherbes in Paris . He provided embassies, hôtels particuliers, ocean liners... All the richest and famous people wanted and paid his works. Edgar Brandt is without contesting, the more representative and appreciated iron worker in the Art Deco period. All his pieces are very sought after now.
