Jean Després: Jeweler, Maker, and Designer of the Machine Age

As a young man, Després came to know avant-garde artists in Paris, including Léger, De Chirico and Braque. After the outbreak of war in 1914 he worked on the industrial design of aeroplanes, and he transferred this experience and inspiration into the jewelry business. Després used geometric motifs in his designs, and in the 1930s embarked on a notable collaboration with the glass painter Étienne Cournault. Després went on to create a range of tableware and decorative objects in gold, silver and pewter, whose bold, industrial looks were uncompromisingly modern, yet always graceful and refined. Many drawings and designs are reproduced here for the first time, showing Després’s creative process and, benefiting from a wealth of fine archive material, the original photographs are accompanied by a large number of new photographs taken specially for the book.