Louis Majorelle

Sale: Sotheby Parke Bernet Monaco S.A., Arts Décoratifs Styles 1900 et 1925, 8 October 1977, lot 37
Acquired directly from the above

Leipzig, Museum der Bildenden Künste, Gunter Sachs, 2008, pp. 128 & 132
The model exhibited:
Paris, La Société des Artistes Décorateurs, 1907
Nancy, Musée de l'Ecole de Nancy & Musée des Beaux Arts de Nancy, 1999, L'Ecole de Nancy, 1889-1909: art nouveau et industries d'art, cat. no. 249, pp. 324 & 236

Laurence Buffet-Challie, Le Modern Style, Paris, 1975, p. 35
Alastair Duncan, Louis Majorelle: Master of Art Nouveau Design, London, 1991, pl. 48
Roselyne Bouvier, Majorelle, une aventure moderne, Paris, 1991, p. 192
Anne-Marie Quette, Le mobilier Français Art Nouveau 1900, Paris, 1995, p. 43
Alastair Duncan, The Paris Salons, 1895-1914, Volume III: Furniture, Woodbridge, 1996, pp. 410-411
Gabriele Fahr-Becker, L'Art Nouveau, Cologne, n.d., p. 118

 

Good overall condition.Leather top is old and somewhat worn and marked commensurate with use ; not guaranteed to be the original. Gilding to bronze mounts also worn throughout with some spots of verdigris. Opening joints to the back and to the right of the right-hand superstructured drawer. The wood has been re-polished and since this time has been used and there are areas of scratching and marking, most notably to the top shelf. Otherwise, general marks commensurate with use but these are issues that a good restorer can resolve.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The son of a respected ceramicist and cabinet-maker in Nancy, Louis Majorelle (1859-1926) trained as an artist at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris before he was compelled to join the family firm upon the death of his father in 1879. After a period in which he oversaw the production of the revivalist furniture of his father and developed his understanding of the principles of cabinet-making, Majorelle's mature oeuvre began to develop in the mid-1890s, producing marquetry inlaid furniture that showed the influence of other Nancy cabinet-makers such as Emile Gallé. His work gradually began to reveal its own highly distinctive qualities, which emerged in their fullest form in his masterful work of the early 1900s, in particular his two greatest decorative schemes, Nénuphars (introduced around 1900, see lot 330 in day sale) and the majestic Orchidées. The exotic and voluptuous Orchidées series was arguably even more lavish than Nénuphars, and the motif found its fullest and most successful expression in the small group of aux Orchidées desks, of which this lot is a spectacular example.

Majorelle's finest work shows that he possessed the rare distinction of being not only a great craftsman but furthermore a great artist, his virtuoso understanding of the traditions of cabinet-making equalled by his inspired interpretation of the decorative precepts of the Art Nouveau style. In this desk he produces a work that succeeds in being both entirely modern and yet rooted within the great traditions of the French ébénistes who preceded him. His skill in reinventing old forms is particularly evident in his sinuous version of the traditional cabriole leg. Majorelle elongates and increases the curvature of the traditional form, creating a new and enlivened shape which rises in a dynamic upward sweep. The form's sense of organic growth is enhanced by the use of the abstracted floral motif, which shoots upwards from its firmly rooted and deeply carved sabot, culminating in the dramatic flowering of the gilt-bronze orchid. Whilst serving a decorative purpose, the gilt-bronze mounts are also integral to the architecture of the entire piece and contribute greatly to the legs' impressive sense of vertical momentum. The sense of fluidity and dynamism is continued in the horizontal plane of the desk, where the sculpted edge sweeps continually around the surface, drawing one's eye with it. The juxtaposition of luxurious dark veneers with the richness of the gilt-bronzes to every side results in a piece with a sculptural quality which allows it to stand at the very centre of a room.