Émile Durkheim

Durkheim, Émile, 1858-1917, French sociologist. Along with Max Weber he is considered one of the chief founders of modern sociology. Educated in France and Germany, Durkheim taught social science at the Univ. of Bordeaux and the Sorbonne. His view that the methods of natural science can be applied to the study of society was influenced by the positivist philosophy of Auguste Comte. Durkheim held that the collective mind of society was the source of religion and morality and that the common values developed in society, particularly in primitive societies, are the cohesive bonds of social order. In more complex societies, he suggests, the division of labor makes for cohesiveness, but the loss of commonly held values leads to social instability and disorientation of the individual. Durkheim studied suicide to show the importance of anomie, the loss of morale that accompanies decline in social identity. To support his theories he drew extensively on anthropological and statistical materials. His important works include The Division of Labor in Society (1893, tr. 1933), The Rules of Sociological Method (1895, tr. 1938), Le Suicide (1897), and The Elementary Forms of Religious Life (1912, tr. 1915).

Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann (28 August 1879, Paris - 1933), his first names often seen reversed as Jacques-Émile, was a renowned French designer of furniture and interiors, epitomising for many the glamour of the French Art Deco style of the 1920s.

He was born in Paris from Alsatian parents who were in the general decorating business. When his father died in 1907 he took over the family firm.

In 1919 Ruhlmann founded, with Pierre Laurent, the company Ruhlmann et Laurent, specializing in interior design and producing luxury home goods that included furniture, wallpaper and lighting. By this time, Ruhlmann was making formal elegant furniture using precious and exotic woods in combination with ivory fittings, giving them a classic, timeless appeal.

Ruhlmann's legacy as a designer was the subject of a major retrospective exhibition at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2004.

External links

• HERBERT MUSCHAMP "DESIGN REVIEW; For the Classy And the Climbers, The High Priest Of Art Deco". New York Times. Retrieved on 2008-08-09.
• Jacque-Emil Ruhlmann: Master of his Art
• Web site about Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann (bio, interiors, furniture, etc.)
• Jacques-Emile Ruhlmann - 'Lotus' dressing table. Victoria and Albert Museum. Retrieved on 2007-11-15..