Jacques-Emile Ruhlmann (1879 - 1933)

Seen by many as an entrepreneur and influence rather than a great designer, Ruhlmann was a leading figure in the notion of a 'decorative ensemble', blending influences from the past with contemporary geometric form to produce an overall, interior design concept in what we would now call the French Art Deco style.

Inheriting his fathers decorative arts business in Paris he had a strong influence as the renovator of interiors for influential clients, bringing his ideas into the public domain.

Ruhlmann preferred to take the overview, producing an initial design concept to be brought to life by his craftsmen, earning a favourable reaction to his furniture and approach.

Following a partnership with the painter and decorator Pierre Laurent, he introduced his own recogniseable style, working with luxurious materials, such as velvet and silk and marble, with traditional decorative woodworking techniques. The results were richly decorative schemes more akin to the modern notion of the interior designer than those of the individual furniture designer.

Combining beautifully patterned carpets, friezes and wallpapers (many with classical influences) with contemporary Cubist forms, many would regard his "Hotel du Collectionneur" as being one of the most notable achievments of the Art Deco Movement.