Jacques Dumond was born in Paris on October 13, 1906, into a family of artisans. After attending the École Boulle from 1923 to 1927, he completed an internship with the architect Patout. His first achievements, including a villa in Bucharest for the French Minister in Romania, date back to 1927.
Alongside executing specific installations, he received commissions from the Mobilier National, such as the Office of the Chancellor of the Order of the Liberation in 1947; furniture for Mr. Dumaine, Chief of Protocol, and Mr. Mécherit at the Élysée Palace; furniture for General Eisenhower in Marnes la Coquette; and installations and furniture, in collaboration with Henri Navarre, for the Administration of Coins and Medals, the Bank of Algeria and Tunisia, the Crédit National, and the Tropical Forest Institute in its new building in Nogent. He also designed the salons and dining room of the French Embassy in Saarbrücken.
Since 1944, Jacques Dumond has regularly exhibited at the Salons des Artistes Décorateurs, d'Automne, and des Arts Ménagers. In 1951, he participated in the "Preuves" Exhibition and was chosen to represent French luxury furniture at the Milan Triennale. In 1953, he organized the presentation of the Exhibition of the International Congress of Industrial Aesthetics.
Jacques Dumond is both an architect and a decorator. While he chose the cabinetmaking workshop at the École Boulle and has become an excellent furniture technician through acquired experience and personal taste, he does not conceive furniture in isolation but rather linked to the overall architecture and specific aesthetic problems. Furniture must be designed in relation to the space it occupies and the ambiance it contributes to. An interior order consists of abstract elements: volumes, colors, and light that the architect-decorator must organize.
A piece of furniture must be constructed in relation to its function, and its aesthetic and material virtues must ensure its durability. Stripped of all non-essential elements, color and the use of new materials on wooden surfaces should provide the necessary touch of fantasy and sensitivity.
Jacques Dumond believes that an effective decorator, to practice his art and profession, must have extensive knowledge ranging from the smallest realistic detail to the most abstract aesthetic generalities. He maintains that to be a contemporary artist, one must collaborate with engineers whose role is essential in the current evolution of living space equipment. However, in this logical and rational approach, the artist's work will only have true human value if it is conceived based on the needs and tastes of individuals or the community.
Thus, a psychological necessity of determining importance comes into play. These personally acquired and experienced convictions and principles inevitably led Jacques Dumond to join the Union des Artistes Modernes, of which he is a member of the Board of Directors.
Sources : Mobilier et Decoration N° 2 de 1954
