Maison Gerard at the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Rouen

Maison Gerard is proud to announce its participation in the Rouen Museum of Fine Arts’ new exhibition Maxime Old, Homme d’intérieurs. 

Running through January 2026, the show is an homage to one of the mid-20th century’s great French decorative artists, and will feature many of Old’s original designs, a few reconstructions of his interiors, and explore his little-known connection to the city (he designed both the Council Chamber of Rouen’s City Hall as well as the Halle aux Toiles).

To showcase the timelessness & versatility of Old’s style, the museum asked Benoist F. Drut of Maison Gerard to guest-curate one of the show’s salons — to situate some of Old’s works among those of other designers and from other periods. We are delighted to present results here below (alongside other pictures from the show)—a kind of eclectic “melange” for which the gallery (fresh off its 50th anniversary year), has come to be recognized. 

The display represents works spanning nearly half a millenia of design history, from the 16th century to the present. Highlights include an unparalleled Regency gilt mirror carved in the 1700s; a large-scale Fireworks cabinet by Jules Leleu (very similar to that held by the Mobilier National, and boasting a mother-of-pearl and ebony inlay—the fruit of no less than 1,200 hours labor); a collection pieces by the Maison Gerard’s designers, including Ayala Serfaty, Carol Egan, Kiko Lopez, Emma Donnersberg, and Aline Hazarian; three sculptures of bronze geese (Henriette, Cunegondeet, and Gertrude) by Nicole Cane; and, last but not least, two works by her late husband and great friend of the gallery’s, Louis Cane—a Nymphéas painting and parrot lamp.

What's more, the display is firmly anchored in the institution's Normandy roots. Drut drew heavily from the vast collection of the Museum, and used many creations of artists native to the region, interspersing, among others, carved stone lamps by Frederic Letaconnoux, a glazed ceramic wall sculpture by Margareth Leveneur, and a wall fragment by Tilt.

Maison Gérard would like to thank the Musée des Beaux Arts de Rouen, its director Robert Blaizeau, and its curator Florence Calame-Levert. The exhibition Maxime Old, Man of Interiors is on display at the Rouen Museum of Fine Arts, with guided tours and workshops, and if you have any questions about any of the pieces you see below, please don't hesitate to reach out to us at home@maisongerard.com or 212-674-7611.