Mathieu Matégot was a Hungarian-born French designer, artist, and interior architect whose work helped define the expressive side of postwar French modernism. Born in 1910 in Hungary, he studied at the School of Arts and Architecture in Budapest before moving to Paris in the 1930s. After serving in the French army and spending time as a prisoner of war during World War II, he returned to Paris and began developing the body of work that would make him one of the most distinctive furniture and object designers of the 1950s.
Matégot is especially celebrated for his innovative use of perforated sheet metal, which he transformed into a signature material he called Rigitulle. This technique allowed him to create furniture, mirrors, coat racks, and lighting with an unusual sense of airiness and movement, combining the strength of metal with the delicacy of fabric. His work stands out for its lyrical geometry, elegant asymmetry, and ability to make industrial materials feel playful, refined, and deeply sophisticated. Later in life, he turned increasingly toward tapestry and the visual arts, but his design legacy remains central to the history of 20th-century French modern design.
