Applying nude human figures was a permanent tradition in art from Ancient Greek to the middle ages, also continuing in the Renaissance period. Subsequently, in the artistic movements as Art Nouveau and Art Deco, modelling female nudes had more artistic intent than erotic. Illustrating a nude model was, and still is, one of the usual art educative methods for apprentices of art to develop their sense of observation and proportion. François-Rupert Carabin is one of the sculptors in Modern history who drew his inspirations from nude body themes. For a period in his life, he attended dissection halls of the Medicine Faculty for anatomy’s studies of the human body. Like Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, one of his contemporaries, he also visited cabarets and café’s to sketch the brothels, study the prostitutes’ photographic images, and follow them as a subject model. His nude art is aesthetically valued and stunning.

François-Rupert Carabin was a French medal maker, goldsmith, woodcarver and furniture designer. He worked with various materials such as clay, ceramics, bronze and wood. As a brilliant furniture decorator, he cut deep grooves on wood, used sculpted elements attached to the plane surfaces and materialized raised forms above the solid wooden backgrounds. His nude figures and the formed human limbs as integral parts of his designs conjoined his furniture components. They were applied as handles and pedestals of his chairs and cabinets.

Émile Gallé was a significant designer of Art Nouveau and a leading figure in creating interior pieces, glassware, ceramics and pottery. As a passionate artist, he never lost his inspiration and didn’t surrender to the power establishments. He gradually formed his radical attitudes, accomplished his ideas in cooperation with other European artists, and held on to the concept of the unity of art, crystallized in various types of design. Without copying those artistic elements from the past, the architects, jewellers, drapery creators, glassworkers and furniture designers walked hand in hand to pass through the most virulent criticism of their time. So did Émile Gallé and his colleagues. They moved without doubt deliberately in the new art direction.

It is fascinating to know that Émile Gallé had studied natural science. As a skilled botanist, he used his expertise in French Flora to produce decorative art. His inspiration was derived from the organic shapes of plants and flowers, and he used them in an asymmetric construct.

The significant designer of Art nouveau furniture Émile Gallé, was also a leading figure in other applied arts. He used natural forms and undulating patterns to produce flat panels for cabinets and furniture. At that time, the Arts and Crafts movement and the Japanese art principles influenced many artists. They were motivated to use delicate shapes in woodworking and materials such as walnut, rosewood, pearwood and teak.

The interaction between design and manufacturing unites the aesthetics features and the consumer needs. Émile Gallé organized a prosperous business that resulted in broader international success. He trained his designers, managed three hundred employees, manufactured glass and faience glazed ceramic ware and produced exquisite furniture. His company gained artistic recognition and grand prizes in the European expositions and expanded its activities with retailing in cities such as Paris, London and Frankfurt am Main.

Are you fascinated by the image of this exquisite furniture piece? We shall concentrate today on Maison Losseau, a private Belgium house renewed in the late 19th century and became in the later years a cultural heritage treasure and a historical centre of literature.

A group of proficient architects and decorators assisted renovation project of the house for more than ten years. Paul Saintenoy, the Belgian architect, Henri and Louis Sauvage, the French designers, The Daum family who were the most prominent glassworkers of that time, Amalric Walter, a glass artist and the designers of Émile Gallé’s workshops, all contributed to this project.

The building had been inherited from Charles Lasseau to his son Léon, an intellectual lawyer from Mons, Belgium. His son had devoted the house to cultural activities and artistic affairs. Passionate about literature and numerous scientific issues, he established a library of more than 100,000 books and organized frequently conferences and ceremonies for humanitarian programs.

At the beginning of the 19th century, before the Art nouveau period, the lack of art creativity led to eclecticism. Reproduction of the diverse art traditions of the Greek and Italian Renaissance and the use of artistic characteristics of previous centuries were generally usual. Loving imitated old features and the worthless gewgaw was conventional in the creative affairs. At that time, the useless counterfeits were superior to the innovative artistic designs.

The artists whose ideas were beyond the art rules and those who did not conform to art standards were forced to leave their occupation or became obliged to work in the established mainstream.

In this series of articles, you can get a good idea of the various topics about Art Nouveau furniture design, particularly the works of Émile Gallé and François-Rupert Carabin.

Surely you have heard about Émile Gallé, one of the artists of the Art Nouveau movement. He was the founder of the École de Nancy, or the Nancy School, and worked with Louis Majorelle, another famous French decorator and furniture designer. They worked closely with other artists of crafts, glassware and textile artisans.