Andre Mare

In 1919 Louis Süe and André Mare founded the Compagnie des arts français (French Arts Company) and in 1921 published their first designs of furniture, wallpaper, tapestries, silverware and ceramics. The company employed many artists and craftsmen    to meet the needs of their sophisticated     and wealthy clientele for interior decoration. Süe and Mare decorated interiors such as the Polish Embassy in  Paris and the home of Jean Patou. In their joint work Architectures (1921), Süe and Mare asserted that Art Nouveau was based on a synthesis of fine and decorative arts. Their commercial designs often had simplified forms with rich materials.

Mare first designed this whimsical clock as part of his interior installation of La Maison Cubiste, Salon d’Automne, 1912. Roughly a decade later, he and Sue put this version and a similar one with slightly different drapery, into production.