Louis Majorelle (1859 – 1926) French Designer and Cabinetmaker

Louis Majorelle (1859 – 1926) was a French Designer and cabinetmaker.

Biography

Majorelle took over the family cabinetmaking and ceramics business in Nancy in 1879. In the late 1880s, he began designing Modern furniture. Working in the Art Nouveau style, Majorelle was the most dynamic practitioner of the School of Nancy. By mechanising his factory, he produced significant quantities of highly decorated commercial furniture and more elaborate pieces using expensive materials such as mahogany, burr walnut, and ormolu. The firm’s catalogue included a wide range of furniture models in both historicist and Art Nouveau styles. 

Unconventional furniture

Known primarily for his unconventional furniture, he designed pianos, desks, armchairs, and, when his workshop included metalworking, wrought-iron railings, ormolu, iron mounts, and lighting. 

He produced the metalwork for Daum, and it made the glassware for Majorelle’s lighting. Majorelle designed lamp bases with cloth shades similar to Louis Comfort Tiffany’s. 

In 1901, he became vice-president of Ecole de Nancy. After World War I, he moved into the Art Déco idiom with more severe forms and restricted ornamentation. Henri Sauvage designed his residence in Nancy. The firm continued after Majorelle’s death under Alfred Lévy, its artistic and technical director. 

In the mid-1930s, Lévy was joined by Paul Beucher at the Atelier Majorelle. The firm had showrooms in Nancy, Paris, and Lyons. 

Exhibitions

His work was shown at the 1903 Ecole de Nancy exhibition in Paris. With Alfred Lévy, he designed the study for the Nancy pavilion at the 1925 Paris Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes.

Sources

Byars, M., & Riley, T. (2004). The design encyclopedia. Laurence King Publishing.

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