Proust Armchair, 1978

Proust Armchair by Alessandro Mendini for Cappellini.

The Proust armchair is the reincarnation of one of the most historic pieces of contemporary Italian design. It is the most famous design by Italian designer Alessandro Mendini, a highly influential champion of design in the eighties. In 1978, with the Proust armchair, Mendini began a furniture series of so-called ‘redesigns’ in which he reinterpreted the shape and ornamentation of existing designs that were typical of their day.

The Proust armchair looks to the Neo-Baroque style of 18^th century France for its design inspiration. Mendini covered the chair complete with a colourful, hand-painted swarm of dots which reproduced an enlarged section of a Pointillist painting by Paul Signac.