Paul Tissier, the architect of the Roaring Twenties celebrations

The architect Paul Tissier (1886-1926) made his brief existence into a multifaceted artistic adventure. A student of the Beaux-Arts in Paris, where he founded the Symphonic Association, he became president of the famous Quat'z'Arts ball. His talent as a watercolorist and draftsman allowed him to bear witness to the ruins of the 1914-1918 war. Whether in devastated regions or on the Côte d'Azur, he developed a unique catalog of modular houses of regionalist inspiration, mixing traditional architecture and modern design.

In 1923, Tissier was entrusted by the Société des Grands Hôtels de Nice with the organization of exceptional parties whose theme was Russia, the Far East, ancient Rome or Latin America, but also underwater kingdoms, and many other fantasies around childhood, fashion or cubism. With his wife Gisèle, he was responsible for both the scenography and the staging: canvases painted in splendid colors, extravagant costumes, spectacular dances, processions, naval jousts, fireworks and illuminations...

A shooting star, Paul Tissier organized nearly 100 parties across Europe in three years, before suddenly passing away. This first monograph draws on the 400 decorative elements and the 2,000 graphic documents that remain in his archive and plunges us into the heart of the excess of the Roaring Twenties.

The author: Stéphane Boudin-Lestienne is an art historian. Since 2013, he has been project manager and co-curator of an exhibition at the Villa Noailles. He is notably the author, with Alexandre Mare, of Rob Mallet-Stevens – Routes, Paris, Bruxelles, Hyères (2016), AAM, Association Villa Noailles, Charles and Marie-Laure de Noailles, Mécènes du XX siècle, Bernard Chauveau, 2020, Faust Magician: Jean Hugo. A Magic Lantern at the Villa Noailles, Norma, 2018.

This work was published thanks to the support of the CNL.

Text in French only