Rodney Black’s comments on Ruhlman and the Lady Christine

“The sideboard came after immersion in Ruhlmann’s aesthetic but it a very distinct departure from Ruhlmann’s work which is highly distinctive” explains Rodney Black, “I don’t think there is a better example in the Lady Christine project unless you consider the sofas in the Salon.”

Rodney Black’s original perspective

“Furniture making at this level without patronage is quite simply impossible unless you are very rich, very gifted and very motivated. These three attributes are rare in an individual and therefore the very gifted rely on the very rich and very motivated which, thankfully, occupy the same being with greater frequency.”

Rodney Black

 

Art Deco Sofa - Lady Christine - Rodney Black

* Concerning Jacques-Emile Ruhlman‘s relationship with his clientele, Rodney Black offered the following quotations: ‘The rich client wants to possess only furniture that it is impossible for the less rich to acquire.  It is necessary, then, that the furniture be expensive, being difficult to execute and using precious materials that no substitute can counterfeit.’ Also:  ‘I ascend not very high, perhaps, but all alone.’ These quotations are taken from John Maxtone-Graham’s ‘Normandie’. ISBN 978-0-393-06120-8.

Links to Rodney Black related posts

Rodney Black’s Art Deco Vision For Lady Christine IV Interiors (Posted on September 28, 2010)

Marquetry Superyacht Installation Depicts Iconic Architecture (Posted on September 7, 2010)

Jacques-Emile Ruhlmann: Genius of Art Deco (Posted on October 5, 2010)