- Eugène Grasset
Eugène Samuel Grasset (
May 25 ,1845 -October 23 ,1917 ) was a Swiss decorative artist who worked inParis, France in a variety of creative design fields during theBelle Époque . He is considered a pioneer inArt Nouveau design.Biography
Grasset was born in
Lausanne, Switzerland , his birth year is sometimes stated as 1841. He was raised in an artistic environment as the son of a cabinet designer/maker and sculptor. He studied drawing underFrancois-Louis David Bocion (1828-1890) and in 1861 went toZurich to study architecture. After completing his education, he visitedEgypt , an experience that would later be reflected in a number of his poster designs. He became an admirer ofJapanese art which too influenced some of his creative designs. Between 1869 and 1870, Grasset worked as a painter and sculptor in Lausanne but moved to Paris in 1871 where he designed furniture fabrics and tapestries as well as ceramics and jewelry. His fine art decorative pieces were crafted from ivory, gold and other precious materials in unique combinations and his creations are considered a cornerstone of Art Nouveau motifs and patterns.In 1877 Eugène Grasset turned to graphic design, producing income-generating products such as postcards and eventually postage stamps for both France and Switzerland. However, it was
poster art that quickly became his forté. Some of his works became part of theMaîtres de l'Affiche including his lithograph, "Jeanne d'Arc Sarah Bernhardt"." In 1890, he designed the "Semeuse" logo used by the dictionary publishers,Éditions Larousse .With the growing popularity of French posters in the
United States , Grasset was soon contacted by several American companies. In the 1880s, he did his first American commission and more success led to his cover design for the 1892 Christmas issue ofHarper's Magazine . In 1894 Grasset created "The Wooly Horse" and "The Sun of Austerlitz" for "The Century Magazine " to help advertise their serialized story on the life ofNapoleon Bonaparte . The "Wooly Horse" image proved so popular thatLouis Comfort Tiffany recreated it in stained glass. Grasset's work for U.S. institutions helped pave the way for Art Nouveau to dominate American art.At the end of the 19th century, Grasset was hired to teach design at École Guérin and École Estienne in Paris. Among his students were
Maurice Pillard Verneuil ,Augusto Giacometti ,Paul Berthon ,Eliseu Visconti andOtto Ernst Schmidt . At the Universal Exhibition of 1900 in Paris, theG. Peignot et Fils typefoundry, introduced the "Grasset"typeface , an Italic design Eugène Grasset created in 1898 for use on some of his posters.Eugène Grasset died in 1917 in
Sceaux in theHauts-de-Seine département southwest of Paris.ee also
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Poster
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