Swiss illustrator and designer Eugène Grasset was undoubtedly one of the most significant
figures within the Art Nouveau movement which swept across Europe in the later 1800s.
And yet it seems he has been relegated to somewhat peripheral status and very few even
know of his existence.
So I hope this video will to some extent at least raise his profile to something more
in keeping with his worth.
Grasset was born in Lausanne, Switzerland in 1845, and I think it's well worth mentioning
that the far more celebrated Alphonse Mucha wasn't born until 15 years later.
Grasset's father was a professional cabinetmaker and sculptor and he taught his young son the
methods and techniques of 3 dimensional design.
His parents persuaded him that a career in architecture was the most likely to lead to
financial stability so in 1861 at the age of 17 that's what he left for Zürich to study.
But he lasted only 2 years before abandoning his studies, and with youthful recklessness
set off for a tour of Egypt.
On his return he quickly realised he needed to now make some sort of living, and surprisingly,
within a couple of years he was enjoying some success as a painter and occasional sculptor.
In 1871 he relocated to Paris, which was then considered to be the centre of the creative
universe, and there he began to diversify into various areas of creative design work,
producing furniture, textiles and ceramics.
Grasset didn't turn to graphic expression until the late 1870s, but when he did he applied
the identical painstaking and aesthetically overwhelming care to his illustrated work.
One of his earliest published works was Mon Petit Journal in 1879 in which he created
a series of accomplished monochromes and shared illustration duties with the now remarkably
obscure Henri Pille.
1882 saw the publication of the book Le Petit Nab and this time around the work was all
Grasset's and much of it in colour.
The images were a real creative triumph and in addition to their narrative function they
were a clear indication of what Grasset was capable of in purely aesthetic terms.
And a year later he developed and refined this approach in his illustrated edition of
the book Histoire des Quatre Fils Aymon.
Every page of this book was abundant with pictorial material, consisting of actual full
page scenes taken from the narrative, and some remarkably complex and attractive panels
and graphic motifs.
Grasset incorporated both medieval and Middle Eastern decoration to frame his illustrations,
and It's hard to think of another book from this period which could lay claim to such
intense and abundant attention to detail.
It's easy to forget that these images were not created by colour offset lithography,
which had yet to be invented.
They were actually produced using the immensely time consuming process known as chromolithography,
which needed a separate print run for every colour used
And the same method was used in his 1886 album of illustrations, featuring a series of classically
styled images incorporating female characters and decorative elements with admirable aesthetic
judgement and balance.
In the same year Grasset's first illustrated calendar was published, and this project was
yet another collection which demonstrated the remarkable extent of his powers of visualisation.
Each month blended floral and astrological elements with the utmost control and aesthetic
sensibility.
It was also in the 1880s that he began to work as a poster artist, and this would quickly
become arguably the most dominant aspect of his output in the rest of his career.
These posters were created by drawing the line image on lithographic stone with wax
crayon, which gave them a less mannered, more spontaneous look than his book work.
Colour was then added in subsequent painstaking print runs.
And although several of the earlier posters struggled to blend text and image successfully
he soon achieved more satisfying aesthetic balance between the two, and along with his
Parisian contemporary Jules Chéret he earned a deserved reputation as a pioneer of modern
poster art.
By the later 1880s his reputation had travelled beyond France, and in 1889 he was given his
first American commission.
This was a cover design using a limited colour palette for the Thanksgiving issue of Harper's
Magazine. And the success of this first cover led to a series of others, all of which were
considered the last word in graphic modernity at the time.
Once again with this body of work he demonstrated his pronounced ability to combine figures
and scenic imagery with borders and letterform in total aesthetic harmony.
In 1894 Grasset also created 2 illustrations to promote The Century Magazine's serialised
story of the life of Napoleon Bonaparte, and i t's now generally considered that Grasset's
magazine work was largely responsible for the pronounced stylistic swing in the direction
of Art Nouveau found a few years later in American illustrators including Edward Penfield
and Louis Rhead.
As early as 1890 Grasset's reputation as an important figure in contemporary art and design
led to numerous professorships at various prestigious Parisian art and design schools,
and this teaching role continued to be an aspect of his career until 1913.
And given his broadly romantic subject matter and graphic approach it was only natural that
he would become a popular designer of stained glass.
His design titled Spring, created in 1894 is considered one of his most significant
achievements in this medium and he created quite a few others which were used in both
ecclesiastical and secular architecture.
Although most of Grasset's work was overwhelmingly romantic there was a darker side to his output
too.
Among other examples were some less than glamorous images created as lithographs with titles
such as the morphine addict and the acid thrower. What they were published as I have no idea
but there were other several other occasional graphic excursions into dramatic more menacing
fantasy too.
More characteristically In 1894 Grasset was commissioned by the Parisian department store
La Belle Jardinière to produce twelve illustrations for a promotional calendar.
Once again, his characters were young, female and beautiful although nobody's idea of a
pin-up.
And each was set within a garden scene reflecting the colours and flora associated with each
month.
These designs were exceptionally popular and there's limited evidence of a revisited version
published in 1899, followed by a totally different although identically themed calendar published
in 1904 which this time feature full colour offset lithographic reproductions of actual
Grasset paintings.
As part of his academic career In 1896 he published a dissertation on the use of plants
in design that featured images prepared by his students, but conforming to Grasset's
own graphic approach in the use of line and colour, and developed from his initial designs.
Despite the immense success he was by now enjoying in his commercial work and academic
position he did continue to create art, and was well regarded in that aspect if his career
too.
Towards the end of the 19th century he was approached by the jewellers Henri and Paul
Vever, who asked him to create designs for their contribution to Paris's planned Universal
Exhibition of 1900.
And the many complex organic pieces he designed were then created using all manner of precious
metals and stones, and they were an immense popular success when the exhibition opened
to the public.
As the first decade of the 20th century unfolded Grasset continued to be productive, although
at a reduced level and the work he created was every bit as compelling as his earlier
more abundant output.
But by 1910 the Art Nouveau movement was losing momentum, as the far less ornate and less
organic influence of the poster artists of the Vienna secession such as Julius Klinger
Klinger and Lucian Bernhardt began to spread throughout Europe.
And before long modernism had become overwhelmingly dominant in all forms of art and design.
But although his best days were undoubtedly behind him Grasset continued to teach, paint
and work on various illustration projects up to his death in Paris in 1917 at the age
of 72.
In a career lasting about 45 years which encompassed just about every form of visual expression
you could think of Eugene Grasset had an immense early influence on other creators of Art Nouveau
illustration and design.
It's true that the ideals of Art Nouveau haven't continued to resonate in contemporary culture
to the same extent that Art Deco has.
But even though fashions come and go the aesthetic beauty of Grasset's work is undoubtedly timeless,
and as I said at the outset it really is a great injustice that he doesn't receive the
recognition he deserves.