French Mid-Century Brutalist Fireside Chair, Christian Durupt Style

Solid wood fireside chair in the style of Christian Durupt, France, circa 1950. The hexagonal seat, faceted at its perimeter, sits atop four outward-splaying tapered legs. A tall plank back rises from the seat, secured in place by wood wedges, a construction detail that is both structural and visually assertive. Carved cutouts appear near the top of the back and at its base where it meets the seat, lending the piece a handled, almost totemic quality. The result is a chair that reads as simultaneously archaic and forward-looking, a quality associated with the work of Durupt and his contemporaries working in regional France during the postwar period. The wood wedge joinery, rather than being hidden, is presented as a deliberate formal element.