Jeanne Lanvin's apartment, designed by Armand-Albert Rateau, 1924-1925

This room, created by the designer Armand-Albert Rateau for Jeanne Lanvin’s private apartment, is a perfect illustration of Rateau’s innovative style combining classical art, an original bestiary and a taste for precious materials.

In 1920, the great fashion designer Jeanne Lanvin bought the mansion that formerly belonged to the Marquise Arconati-Visconti at 16, Rue Barbet-de-Jouy in Paris. She added a reception wing whose rooms (hall, library, gallery and dining room) were furnished by the designer Armand-Albert Rateau from 1921 to 1924. The pair of copper vases and screen by Jean Dunand, presented here, came from the dining room.

In the 1920s, Armand-Albert Rateau developed a highly innovtive style inspired by his interest in classical art and embellished with creatures from an original bestiary. The three rooms (bathroom, bedroom and boudoir) in Jeanne Lanvin’s apartment, which he decorated in 1924-1925, reflect a highly personal sense of luxury with furniture in patinated bronze, oak and gilt wood.