Invention
of the phonograph (1877) A section of the entryway of the villa is dedicated to the placement of phonographs.
The
Société
des Artistes Français
is established (1881) It is an association
of French painters and sculptors. Its annual
exhibition is called the Salon. Many of Eileen's furniture works were displayed there.
Eileen discovers lacquer (1906) When
Gray moved back to Paris in 1906 to an apartment where she remained
for much of her working life, she met Seizo Sugawara. He originated from an area of Japan that was known for its decorative lacquer work and had emigrated to
Paris to repair the lacquer work exhibited in the Exposition
Universelle. She found, after working with Sugawara for four years,
that she had developed the lacquer disease on her hands. However, she
continued with her work and it was not until 1913, when she was
thirty-five, that she exhibited any of it. When she did, it was a
success.
Establishment of the Bauhaus (1919)
The Bauhaus was a school in Germany that combined crafts and the fine arts and
was famous for the approach to design that it publicized and taught. The Bauhaus greatly influenced the work of Eileen Gray.
Eileen establishes the shop 'Jean Desert' (1921) A small shop in Paris meant to exhibit and sell her work as well as other people's works.
Publication of
L’Architecture
Vivante (1923)
Jean Badovici gained reputation not for constructing buildings but
for analyzing and supporting avant garde architecture. He was an
influential critic and mentor of international modern architecture in
France since he began editing the magazine L’Architecture
Vivante. Soon after the construction of E. 1027 it was published in this magazine.
Corbusier publishes Vers une architecture
(1923) Le Corbusier published his 5 principles of architecture. Eileen analysed and rejected some of his views on architecture. This publication was a major influence on the design of E. 1027.
Tempe
à Pailla is created (1930) She
designed and furnished herself a new home, Tempe à Pailla, outside Menton.
This is another icon of modernist architecture, a space designed for
her to dwell and work, a living/working machine as she wanted it, a
space which could be constantly changed with multi-purpose furniture. She built on existing structures which anchored the
house, based her house on ship structures, using forms that were long
and narrow, many decks for views and levels for storage, much like E. 1027. Also, Eileen
treated the outside space the same way as she treated the inside
space; she did this by having the same tiles, the same material
inside and out.
WWII
(1939 -1945) During World War II Gray, along with all other foreigners, was forced to
evacuate the coast of France and move inland. After the war she
discovered that her flat in Saint-Tropez had been blown up and that E. 1027 had been looted.
Corbusier's
Le Petit Cabanon is created (1951) Le Corbusier's Cabanon was placed right next door to E. 1927, it is said that Corbusier had an obsession with E.1027.
The brutalist architecture movement (1960 - 1975) Brutalist
architecture
is a style of architecture
which flourished from the 1950s to the mid 1970s, spawned from the modernist architectural movement. Examples are typically very linear,
fortress like and blockish, often with a predominance of concrete
construction. E. 1027 among many other buildings created this movement.
E. 1027 is purchased by the Conservatoire du Littoral and is
declared French national monument (1999) The restoration is being sponsored by the French government, Roqubrune-Cap-Martin, and the département des Alpes-Maritimes.
E. 1027 is currently
being renovated today (2012)
