Claudius Linossier, Reconstruction of the entrance door to the Clos Saint-Bernard (1926-1927)

The François Pouenat workshop teams up with the villa Noailles to take part in a campaign to reconstruct the missing decorative art pieces from the Clos Saint-Bernard. The project involves reproducing the upper entrance door to the house, a metal panel composition designed by Claudius Linossier. The research and testing phase currently ongoing will result in the installation of the door at the end of 2024.
A year after their first stay at Clos Saint-Bernard, Charles and Marie-Laure de Noailles ordered new interior and exterior designs, while extensions to the building were already under construction. Architect Robert Mallet-Stevens was involved in the development of each project, working with some of the most avant-garde interior designers of the time.
In the summer of 1926, the viscount wrote to Claudius Linossier (1893-1953), a coppersmith from Lyon, asking him to create a decorative metal door for the entrance to the forecourt.
The extensive correspondence between Charles de Noailles, Robert Mallet-Stevens and Claudius Linossier attests to the enthusiasm and involvement of the patron, the architect, and the craftsman. The door is part of the rigorous geometric design of the south facade and stands out as a significant element in the modernity of the house, just like the sculpture park and the landscaping. These include the cubist garden in multicoloured glass paste designed by Gabriel Guévrékian that same year.
Placed in the centre of a bay window lined with fine joinery, the door was designed by Linossier from five opaque metals: pewter, brass, red copper, nickel silver, and silver. It consists of rectangles and squares that appear to be superimposed, creating a contrasting graphic effect. You can easily imagine the sun alternately illuminating the shimmering surfaces.
As with the metal entrance door, some commissions were ordered a few months or years after their installation. Examples include the stained-glass windows by Louis Barillet in the windows of the staircase and the bas-relief by Henri Laurens on the pillar in the entrance hall. The fittings and decoration of the house regularly evolved as the architecture of the building expanded and changed. Today, only black-and-white films and photographs bear witness to this; letters exchanged between the patrons, artists, and craftspeople provide additional clues.