Janine Abraham & Dirk-Jan Rol

Citron Armchair

Description/

Rougier edition – 1957
Rattan, lacquered metal, foam and fabric

Good original condition

First presented at the Salon des Arts Ménagers in Paris in 1957, this armchair, named “Lemon” because of its particular shape, is one of the iconic rattan furniture pieces designed by the design and architecture couple Janine Abraham & Dirk-Jan Rol in the 1950s. By treating this traditional material with ultra-modern and functional forms, the couple created a true aesthetic revolution and played an important role in the renaissance of rattan in French design.

The lemon chair, like the Sun chair, is one of Abraham & Rol’s best known and rarest designs. They were produced in very few copies and very rarely appear on the market. Only seven examples of the lemon chair are known today, including this one.

Janine Abraham & Dirk-Jan Rol

designer

"Graduating valedictorian in 1952 from Camondo Art School, Janine studied there under René Jean Caillette and Maxime Old and met Pierre Paulin, who she followed to Meubles TV. Dirk Jan Rol studied cabinet-making initially in Holland and then at ENSAD (with, among others, Paul Dupré Lafon). They met in 1955 at Jacques Dumond's atelier, where they worked together for a short time. The couple quickly designed a range of rattan furniture produced by Rougier. They also worked in interior design and opened their own agency in 1957; they designed a number of boutiques for Yves Rocher and also stands for Les Huchers Minvielle. Abraham and Rol then turned to architecture, creating beautiful private homes and a bare concrete building in Meudon.

- Silver medal at the Triennale di Milano (nursing chair in aluminium, 1957)
- Gold medal at the Brussels World Fair (Soleil armchair, 1958)
- Salon des Artistes Décorateurs (aluminium and rattan armchair, 1959)
"