Francis the Jordan

For the homonymy ornithologist and British oologist, Francis the Jordan, to see Francis Charles Robert the Jordan

Francis the Jordan (1876 - 1958) was painter, creator of pieces of furniture and decorations of interiors, ceramics, and other decorative objets d'art. Starting from the Years 1930, it engaged more and more politically and ended up adhering to the French Communist party. At the end of its life, he exerted the president's function of the French Popular help.

Wire of the architect Frantz the Jordan, founder of the Living room of autumn, his childhood profits from the many relations of his parents in the intellectual mediums (Emile Zola, Alphonse Daudet) and artistic (circle of Alexandre Charpentier). Pioneer of the modern movement, it gives up at the beginning of the 20th century the style Art nouveau in which it had been distinguished (decoration of the Villa Majorelle with Nancy), grace in particular to the influence of Adolf Loos, precursor of the Bauhaus.

Near to the nabi S (Bonnard, Vuillard) there will remain faithful to the currency of “art for all”. Its painting will be influenced by that of the “fawn-coloured ” (Henri Matisse, Albert Marquet). Near to Octave Mirbeau, it supports with him the novelists of the small people Charles-Louis Philippe and Marguerite Audoux.

Giving up the Painting and the Engraving in 1912, it invents and markets a system of cheap interchangeable pieces of furniture and opens in 1919 a shop of ceramics, fabrics, luminaries and other decorative objects of a resolutely modern style. During this time, he collaborates regularly in the Cahiers of Today directed by his friend Georges Besson.

In 1929 it takes part in the foundation of the union of the modern artists (UAM) at the sides of Robert Mallet-Stevens, Charlotte Perriand, Pierre Charreau, Rene Herbst… It engages more and more in the political combat and adheres in 1932 to the Association of the writers and revolutionary artists (AEAR) near André Gide, Aragon and Paul Valiant-Dressmaker.

He is pursued by the Gestapo during the Second world war. To the release, it devotes the major part of its time to art critics on the painters whom it cotoyés (Toulouse-Lautrec, Pierre Bonnard, Paul Cézanne, Albert Marquet…) and with the drafting of its memories. He is then member of the management committee of the review the Thought founded by Paul Langevin.

Francis the Jordan was one of the very first founders of modern decorative arts in France.

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