Jean-Michel Frank was a French interior designer known for minimalist interiors decorated with plain-lined but sumptuous furniture made of luxury materials, such as shagreen, mica, and intricate straw marquetry.
19 Facts About Jean-Michel Frank
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Jean-Michel Frank had an eye for exotic patterns, specifically in veneers, including snake and sharkskin.
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Jean-Michel Frank's work became widely known in the 1930s when select, higher classes demanded his furniture.
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Jean-Michel Frank is known for being associated with the Art Deco movement.
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Jean-Michel Frank was born in Paris, a son of Leon Frank, a banker, and his wife and cousin, the former Nanette Frank.
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Jean-Michel Frank was a first cousin of Otto Frank, the cousin-in-law of Edith Frank and, therefore, a first cousin, once removed, of the diarist Anne Frank.
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Jean-Michel Frank's mother became depressed and eventually died in 1928 after being in a Swiss asylum for several years.
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Distressed by the deaths he had experienced, Jean-Michel Frank had depression throughout his whole life.
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Jean-Michel Frank found himself with a substantial family inheritance, enabling him to travel around Paris from 1920 to 1925.
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Jean-Michel Frank sought to design spaces that were uncluttered, featured neutral color schemes, and exotic patterns.
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Jean-Michel Frank drew inspiration from Ancient Egypt, Louis XVI, and the Art Deco movement.
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In 1924, Jean-Michel Frank was commissioned by Jean Rene Guerrand to design a unique collection of home furniture.
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Jean-Michel Frank challenged his students to create a table that would retain its integrity whether sheathed in gold leaf, mica, parchment, or even painted burlap.
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The apartment consisted of a selection of works by Jean-Michel Frank including a pair of chairs made from oak and leather and a set of side chairs in a restrained Louis XVI style.
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Jean-Michel Frank kept his private apartment in Buenos Aires on the top floor of the company of which he was the Artistic Director in Argentina.
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Jean-Michel Frank visited many of his clients in Buenos Aires including the Born family; whose mansion in the northern suburbs of Buenos Aires remains one of his many important projects.
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Jean-Michel Frank's lights were classic-modern combined with exotic, textured materials, such as, plaster, mica, obsidian, vellum, and terracotta.
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Today, Jean-Michel Frank is recognized by leading designers around the world as one of the greatest sources of inspiration to many present-day designs.
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Jean-Michel Frank's works are highly sought after by leading collectors worldwide.