MATEGOT Mathieu

Hungarian/French Designer 1910-2001

Mathieu Mategot is a Hungarian born designer and became a naturalized French citizen in 1945. After studying at the University of Fine Arts in Budapest and training at the Janeck academy, Mategot worked as a set designer in the theater. He moved to France in 1931 and started his career  as a window dresser at the Galeries Lafayette. His interest in tapestry quickly led him to meet people in the field, one of them Jean Lurçat with whom he became friends.

Mategot enlisted during the war and worked in a cog factory. Because of his creative imagination he was soon given his own design office. His new position authorized more liberty and permitted him to mentally escape.  After he returned to Paris he created many sample tapestry designs. He greatly contributed to renewing tapestry making as an artisan craft. He is responsible for a pique technique that allows the printing of many color variations. Despite his love of this discipline, he abandoned  it in the 1970’s to pursue painting as he was disappointed in the little interest shown by the public.

Mathieu Mategot is also known as an interior designer and decorator. His utilization of perforated sheet metal did not seem very empirical at the beginning. Elegant assemblies and folding techniques, equilibrium of volume and visual density all participate in the elaboration of a clever and expert system. The use of color in his interiors exudes a certain poetry. The neologisms formed to name his creations such as Rigitulle or Rigibande reflect the lightness and grace of his works.