Gérard Rigot, Peacock Dressing Table. France, 1992

There is Art Deco, Art Nouveau; there is design, modernism or Memphis… And then there are pieces that resist classification. Gérard Rigot’s creations, as if drawn from a fable, most probably belong to that latter category.

Carved in wood and entirely hand-painted, this remarkable dressing table, flanked by two peacocks, emerges from Rigot’s enchanted bestiary, where furniture becomes sculpture.

Rigot’s characteristic use of colour — at times naturalistic, always expressive — animates the surface. The pivoting mirror, framed by a checkerboard border that still bears traces of the original pencil guidelines, appears to float between the birds’ necks. Below, carved and pierced details in vivid tones evoke a garden in bloom, while the slender front legs, painted with motifs recalling flowers or feathers, lend the piece a certain lightness and echo the accompanying stool.

The dressing table features two drawers in the front apron as well as two concealed compartments hidden beneath the peacocks’ tails.

Born in 1929, Rigot began sculpting furniture for himself and his family after leaving Paris for the countryside of south-west France, where he acquired a carpentry workshop. His zoomorphic creations playfully blur the boundary between art and furniture.

By the late 1980s, his work had travelled from Paris to New York, London and Zurich, attracting collectors drawn to its singular character. Each piece, though unique, retains what defines Gérard Rigot’s universe: a poetic sensibility, the visible hand, and a playful use of forms and colour.