History of the Lighting of Serge Mouille
1922-Present
1922
December 24
The youngest of three children, Serge Mouille was born in Paris. His father was a policeman and his mother was a work-from-home seamstress.
1922-1935
Inspired by Nature
As a boy, the Mouille family would spend holidays on Serge’s grandparents farm where his fascination for nature began. He would often visit the Jardin des Plantes in Paris, where he became ever curious and enthralled by the most intricate details of mother nature. He spent countless hours drawing the plants and animals he saw there. These details, the network of veins in a leaf, the way shells grow, and the joints and anatomy of animal skeletons would later become the hallmark of his creations.
1936-1941
School of Applied Arts in Paris
At the recommendation of his drawing teacher Serge Mouille signed up for the admissions exam at the School of Applied Arts in Paris. Without even knowing what students studied there, and having never even told his parents he was taking the entrance exam, Serge passed and became the youngest Applied Arts pupil of the time. While attending the School of Applied Arts, Serge studied metallurgy and silversmithing from world renowned sculptor, Gabriel René Lacroix. After graduation in 1941, went to work in his studio.
1945
Teaching at The School of Applied Arts in Paris
At the age of 22, Mouille himself became a teacher at the School of Applied Arts and opened his own metalworking studio. His design commissions were mostly for hand rails, chandeliers and wall sconces.
1953-1954
Mouille’s Evolution To Lighting Design
In 1953, Jacques Adnet hired him to design lighting fixtures, an art to which he devoted the rest of his life. Mouille designed large, angular, insect-like wall mounted and standing lamps with several arms and smaller, and more curved wall-sconces. He worked to achieve a kinetic, sculptural aesthetic that evoked a sense of movement in space. His designs from this period were shown mainly at the Steph Simon Gallery in Paris.
1955-1960
Recognitions
In 1955, he became a member of the Society of Decorative Artists and of the French National Art Society. In the same year he was awarded the Charles Plumet prize for his work, and in 1958, he received a Diploma of Honor at the Brussels Expo. Towards the end of the decade, Mouille began to design some institutional lighting and designing the lighting at the University in Antony, for schools in Strasbourg and Marseilles and for the Bizerte Cathedral. Also towards the end of the 1950’s the invention of neon tubes inspired Mouille to create a series of floor lamps that combined incandescence and fluorescence.
1962
Teaching at l'École des Arts Appliqués
In 1962, Mouille stops fabrication of the luminaire to teach at l'École des Arts Appliqués.
1988
December 24
Serge Mouille passed away on his 66th birthday.
1999
Les Editions Serge Mouille
In 1999, Gin Mouille and Claude Delpiroux ventured into producing the lamps of Serge Mouille designs with all original measurements, materials and mostly with the precious assistance of Fred Barnley (pictured) one of Mouille’s early students.
2000-2009
Gin Signs the First Certificate of Authenticity
In 2000, Gin Mouille signed the first Certificate of Origin for Les Editions de Serge Mouille assuring clients that they are acquiring an art piece made with the exact same philosophy by which Serge Mouille designed them. Gin continued as the signee until 2009.
2009-2016
Claude Delpiroux
From 2009 to 2016, Claude Delpiroux was the signee of all Certificates of Origin for Les Editions de Serge Mouille.
2016 - Present
Didier Delpiroux
In 2016, Claude’s son, Didier Delpiroux, became the signee for all Certificates of Origin for Les Editions de Serge Mouille. Today, around 1500 pieces are produced yearly and distributed around the world.