Jean Prouvé was born in Paris in 1901 and became one of the most influential designers and architects of the 20th century. Considered a leading exponent of the modernist design movement, Prouvé began his career as an apprentice to various blacksmiths and metalworkers.

In 1924, he opened his own workshop and studio. In the 1930s, Jean Prouvé had a keen interest in rational construction and contributed a functionalist approach to design. Meanwhile, he began collaborating with Charlotte Perriand, Pierre Jeanneret and Le Corbusier. Together with Le Corbusier, Prouvé steered French modernism towards the emergence of principled, democratic approaches to architecture and design.

In his design work, Prouvé was inspired by machines such as cars, trains and aeroplanes. Like other modernist pioneers, Prouvé strove for rational mass production. Unlike his contemporaries, however, he was a trained blacksmith and understood in a very different way how machines worked in practice. After the Second World War, Prouvé also began a career as an architect, having been commissioned by the French government to design new townhouses.

Today, Vitra produces a number of Jean Prouvé's popular pieces, including the Cit chair, the Standard chair and the Compas Direction desk. These are considered design icons and are as popular today as when they were designed.