Posts Tagged ‘hector guimard’

ART NOUVEAU CHAIRS: UPHOLSTERED ARMCHAIR, LAYERED WOOD CHAIR, SLAT-BACK ARMCHAIR, BENTWOOD SIDE CHAIR, UPHOLSTERED ARMCHAIR, CANED-SEAT ARMCHAIR, CURVED DESK CHAIR

ART NOUVEAU CHAIRS

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WHEN  IT CAME TO the chair, Art
Nouveau designers let their imaginations run wild. Designers from Glasgow to Nancy used the chair to illustrate and promote the Art Nouveau ideal.
Breaking free from traditional methods of design and construction, designers experimented with flowing, abstract shapes influenced by nature, and bending or elongating wood into sculptural pieces.
The Scottish architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh left an indelible mark on Art Nouveau furniture, especially with his ground-breaking chair designs. Well proportioned with attenuated backs imparting an almost ecclesiastical appearance, his cube-based chairs decorated with geometric cut-out patterns were influential, especially on designers
working in Germany    Austria, who embraced this more linear approach.
The French strand of Art Nouveau produced a contrasting style. with its sinuous, organic. fluid chair designs which were made by Louis Majorelle and Hector Guimard in exotic woods. These were often lavishly decorated with intricate inlays, marquetry. and carved botanical motifs on top rails, legs, and aprons.
A taste for the exotic also provided another decorative and extremely influential outlet in chairs – from Japanese and Moorish-inspired designs to bizarre seat furniture created by Carlo Bugatti and Antoni Gaudi using a variety of materials. Bugatti and Gaudi used imaginative combinations of wood and metals, embellished with materials such as leather, vellum, and silk.

The curves on this piece were achieved using the bentwood technique.
Aluminium nails decorate the replaced leather seat and back.
The beech frame is stained the colour of mahogany.
UPHOLSTERED ARMCHAIR
This chair is constructed from bent beechwood stained the colour of mahogany. The curved shape was achieved by steaming the wood, then applying even pressure. The prolific architect and founder of the Vienna Secession, J.M. Olbrich, designed this armchair for Thonet of Vienna. c1902.

ARMCHAIR
This mahogany armchair has an upholstered crest, a slat back and carved arms. The seat and back panel are upholstered in velvet. The slat back forms a back leg and the piece
terminates in bun feet. c. 1900.
LAYERED WOOD CHAIR
This is one of a set of four chairs made in the style of the early Vienna Secession. The chair is made of cut beechwood and layered wood which is stained in two shades. The seat is covered in black leather, but is not original. c.1900.
This stained beech and elm chair was probably made by Wylie & Lochhead of Glasgow. The curved top rail sits above three splats. The seat is inlaid with boxwood lining. The legs are joined by double stretchers that terminate in upholstered, panelled feet. L&T I
This Viennese slat-back armchair is constructed from veneered and polished nut wood massif. The design is accredited to Josef Hoffmann. A low, D-shaped stretcher unites the straight legs near to the base of the chair. c.1905.
ARMCHAIR
SLAT-BACK ARMCHAIR
BENTWOOD CHAIR
This beech chair, made and signed by Austrian manufacturer Thonet, has a flowing bentwood frame made of bent rods, which curves without the use of carving and joints. It has a shaped seat rail and a reversed, heart-shaped back that sweeps below the seat to form stretchers. The triangular seat is made of cane, although it is not original. The chair terminates in three legs. c.1900.

This is one of a pair of side chairs made of oak. The back of the chair has curvilinear rails linking tapering uprights above a drop-in seat.
Square-section, tapering legs terminate in pad feet.
This early J. & J. Kohn side chair was designed by Josef Hoffmann. It has a bentwood back and tapering legs, and there are four wooden spheres under the seat rail. The brown leather
upholstery is tacked on to the seat and back, obscuring the stamped mark.
SIDE CHAIR
BENTWOOD SIDE CHAIR
ARMCHAIR
This is one of a pair of mahogany armchairs designed by J.S. Henry. The tall, upholstered back has sinuous leaf finials, curving open arms, and an upholstered pad seat. The seat is supported on turned and tapering legs linked by an arched stretcher at the front and straight side
stretchers.

MARQUETRY ARMCHAIR
Designed by Louis Majorette, the back splat of this mahogany armchair is decorated in marquetry depicting branch and leaf designs. The chair has moulded “U”-shaped crinoline arms that have distinctive duck’s-head terminals. The seat is upholstered in velvet.
UPHOLSTERED ARMCHAIR
This mahogany armchair, designed by G.M. Ellwood, has a tapering back containing an oval upholstered panel and elegant vertical splats. The piece has open upholstered arms and an upholstered seat. The legs terminate in tassle carved feet.
ARMCHAIR
This stained mahogany armchair features distinctive, wavy, horizontal splats positioned above and below the rectangular panelled back. The downswept, open arms and
upholstered panel seat are raised on turned, tapered legs.
CANED-SEAT ARMCHAIR
This is one of a pair of “Model 511″ chairs by Thonet, constructed from bent beech. The splat is pierced with holes, with parallel slats below. The back continues in a curve down to the feet. The seat is made of woven caning. c.1904.
This mahogany desk chair by Louis Majorelle has open arms featuring galleries of tapered spindles. Red-leather upholstery on the back and scat is fixed to the frame with studs. The twisted form of the legs emphasizes the sinuous, feminine design.
This carved walnut armchair designed by Henri Rapin has a wing back and bold scrolling terminals. The tapering legs lead to splayed spade feet. The heavily patterned upholstery is not original. 1910.
This Louis Majorelle carved mahogany desk chair (part of a desk set) has moulded arms leading into sweeping, reverse-curved supports. The chair has a distinctive, low upholstered back. The front legs are cabriole in shape. c.1903.
This armchair was designed by Josef Maria Olbrich and made by Josef Niedermoser of Vienna. The frame is black-varnished maple, the chair is upholstered with yellow leather covers, and the feet are metal. 1898 99.
DESK CHAIR
OPEN ARMCHAIR
CURVED DESK CHAIR
ARMCHAIR

THE DEVELOPMENT OF the Parisian thread of French Art Nouveau is distinguished by a group of forward-looking individuals who formed artistic groups to experiment with new forms, and who were supported by a circle of entrepreneurs. The most important patron was the influential dealer, Siegfried Bing (see p.355). An enthusiastic collector with a special interest in Oriental art, Bing played a crucial role in Le Japon Artistique, a publication that was instrumental in popularizing Far Eastern Art in 19th-century Europe, before he moved on to promote Art Nouveau.
AN ENTERPRISING ENDEAVOUR Key to the success of the “new art” in Paris was Binds transformation of his antiques shop in Paris into the gallery L’Art Nouveau in 1895. He dedicated this to exhibiting a host of decorative objects, which embodied the new directions in art while also being inspired by French tradition. He assembled a group of innovative artists – not only from France but also Henry van de Velde of Belgium and the American, Louis Comfort Tiffany –and showcased their latest works. Bing succeeded in bringing Art Nouveau to a wealthy, fashion-conscious clientele and was joined in this endeavour by the German art critic, Julius Meier Graefe who established La Maison Moderne in 1898. His aim was to offer more affordable decorative wares in the Art Nouveau style, made using industrial methods.
THE PARIS AND NANCY STYLES Although both the Paris and Nancy Schools pioneered the new, curvilinear, organic furniture style, the leading designers of both schools – Hector Guimard in Paris and Louis Majorette and Emille Galle in Nancy – each drew inspiration from nature in a very different way. At the Ecole de Nancy, the style was much more exuberant and florid: the finely crafted pieces had sculptural shapes and were richly veneered in exotic woods, with motherof-peal inlays, marquetry, and gilt-bronze mounts.
The Parisian strand of Art Nouveau was lighter and more restrained, and owed much to the work of the architect and furniture designer, Hector Guimard.
One of a talented group of cabinetmakers, Guimard – who was a disciple of Victor Horta in Belgium and is best remembered for his Paris Metro entrances – was one of the most innovative and progressive. His bold and energetic three-dimensional furniture designs were imaginative, sculptural evocations of the natural world. At first these were made in solid mahogany, but later he used a soft pearwood that was easier to model.
DECORATIVE INSPIRATION Although the decoration favoured by the Paris School took its inspiration from nature, it was stylized. Other furniture designers who were part of Siegfried Bing’s influential gallery and retail shop,

and who formed the core of the Paris School of Art Nouveau, included Eugene Gaillard, the Dutchman Georges De Feure, and German-born Edouard Colonna.
ROCOCO INFLUENCE
Gaillard’s robust, dynamic furniture looked back to the 18th-century Rococo style of Louis XV for inspiration, and included pieces such as the magnificent display cupboard in walnut that was shown at the 1900 International Exhibition in Paris (see pp.354-55), as well as light and airy tables and chairs with sinuous decoration in aquatic plant patterns.
The slender and refined gilded wood furniture created by De Feure was delicately carved with plant
motifs and combined with silk fabrics. His sophisticated designs drew inspiration from the 18th-century French tradition of furniture-making, especially the Louis XVI style.
Colonna’s furniture was a quieter version of Art Nouveau. Its simple forms and scrolling, decorative patterns were carved with a light and delicate hand.

WALNUT-FRAMED CHAIR
This carved walnut chair was designed by Eugene Gaillard. The chair has a distinctive pierced, asymmetric floral and foliate carved frame decorated with sinuous curves and plant tendril carving on the back. The chair seat and back are upholstered with the original floral embossed brown leather, which is fixed in place with brass studs. The chair stands on flared feet. This style was influenced by leading Paris School artist-craftsmen such as Hector Guimard. c. 1905.

OAK SERVER
A more restrained Art Nouveau style is shown in this oak and purple-heart server designed by Leon Jallot. The piece has an arched, raised back with pierced, stylized leaf motifs above Iwo frieze drawers and open shelves.
DESK CHAIR
This Tony Selmersheim desk chair is made from padouk, a type of rosewood. The chair has a wavy top rail above a cartouche-shaped padded back with inscrolled arms and a
padded seat. The piece stands on gently splayed tapering legs. c.1902.
MAHOGANY SIDE TABLE
Designed by Camille Gauthier and Paul Poinsignon, this table has a concave-shaped rectangular top with delicate, floral-motif fruitwood marquetry. It sits above an arched frieze with daffodil-design marquetry, on spiral-carved, tapering legs. c.1900.

GLASS-FRONTED CABINET
This cabinet is made of lemonwood and satinwood and carved with foliate motifs. The stained glass cabinet doors contain simple, swirling foliate designs in coloured glass. The piece was designed by Edouard Colonna for Siegfried Bing. 1900.

In the 1890s, public and private interiors in France underwent a period of radical change, reflecting a burgeoning interest in modern materials, nature-inspired decorative motifs, and imaginative forms of Art Nouveau. One of the most original French Art Nouveau architects, Hector Guimard, was celebrated for his sinuous, decorative, wrought-iron entrances for the Metro stations in Paris.
Guimard made his mark as an architect with a distinctive block of flats he built in Paris from 1894 to 1998, which was known as Lc Cassel Beranger, located at
Entrance to Boissiere Metro station This is one of the curvaceous cast-iron Paris Metro entrances designed by Hector Guimard. 1899-1904.
10 rue dc la 1bntainc. Loth the exterior and interior of the flats boast hold, abstract ornament. Ile used variegated colour on the facade, and built an interior courtyard to allow more light into the apartments.
Guimard understood the need to create brightly coloured living spaces that were open and hilt of light. With the Castel ir3cianger, he demonstrated how the decorative arts, in a wide range of materials, could successfully work together with architecture to create a unified, modern scheme.

WALNUT SELETTE
This two-tier walnut selette stand was designed by Edouard Diot. Beneath a flat top, distinctive, delicately curved supports decorated with carved, twisting floral motifs extend from the upper tier via open supports. The piece rests on out-splayed carved feet.