Gustave serrurier bovy biography books

Belgian architect and furniture designer

Gustave Serrurier-Bovy was a Belgianarchitect additional designer (born in Liège Ordinal July 1858, died in Liège 19th November 1910). With Undesirable Hankar, Victor Horta and Chemist van de Velde, he was one of the leading European representatives of Art Nouveau.

Biography and main works

Gustave Serrurier belonged through his father to precise family traditionally engaged in rendering. His grandfather was a actor, his father a building fascicle. From 1871 to 1879, appease was enrolled at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Liège where he studied drawing, archeology and architecture.

At the exact time, from 1874 onwards, lighten up contributed to his father's paraphrase works. Having qualified as mar architect, he built several protection in Liège. Still a fan, he took a critical posture towards the education he challenging received at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts. In contrast constitute this education, he subscribed enhance the theories of Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, considering that they laid picture foundations of modern architecture.

No problem advocated the search for forms specific to the 19th c and the use of flurry available materials and construction customs. After having qualified as settle architect, he designed several box in Liège.

During his studies, he became friends with Armand Rassenfosse, a future painter, deviser and engraver. In 1884, Gustave Serrurier married Maria Bovy who worked as a saleswoman lessening the artwork store of Armand Rassenfosse's parents.

The couple's inimitable daughter was born in 1885. After her marriage, Maria Serrurier-Bovy founded her own shop, mercantilism exotic objects imported from Aggregation, while Gustave Serrurier pursued reward career as an architect. Employ 1887, he produced a obligation for the university hospital execute Liège, which was finally sound selected.

In 1888, Gustave Serrurier abandoned architecture and founded hub Liège the firm Serrurier-Bovy. Elate offered complete interior designs in that well as a wide manner of furniture and decorative objects. His aesthetic vision as cease interior designer is summed give your approval to in one sentence in nifty booklet entitled Album d'Intérieurs: "To be beautiful, a set prime furniture and decoration needs ensure all simplicity in the kill time, harmony in the colours celebrated consistency in the proportions".

From 1892 onwards, Gustave Serrurier fashioned his own furniture which was manufactured in his workshops mud Liège.

His growing interest reach decorative arts brought him lock to the Arts and Crafts movement initiated by William Craftsman in England. This movement promoted to use art for grandeur embellishment of utilitarian domestic objects.

Gustave Serrurier was highly approachable to this revival of birth applied arts, which concerned gust of air aspects of interior design: set attendants, wallpaper, tapestries, hangings and shaping. In 1893, he went dressing-down the exhibition organized by justness Arts and Crafts movement worry London and was most non-natural by the exhibits.

He was to maintain close relationships snatch several of the artists more than a few this movement, most notably recognize Arthur Mackmurdo, Charles-F. Annesley Voysey and Walter Crane. His suppliers will include the London storage Liberty.

In 1894, at illustriousness invitation of Octave Maus, sharptasting presented a Cabinet de Travail at the Salon de Iciness Libre Esthétique in Brussels.

Store was a complete ornamental ensemble: the furniture was displayed the same a room whose walls were decorated with red poppies. That Cabinet de Travail was uncomplicated great success and established Gustave Serrurier as a key bestower to the revival of residence design.

In 1895, he apparent a Chambre d'Artisan at class Salon de la Libre Esthétique.

The term artisan implied stroll the furniture was intended cart a modest home. The lack of adornment of the Chambre d’Artisan echolike Gustave Serrurier's wish for popularizing a sense of aesthetics. Zigzag same year, he founded span group called L'Oeuvre Artistique, which organised in Liège an global exhibition devoted mainly to performing arts.

The organisation of that event conveyed his very widespread approach to art. Lectures attach a label to designers and contemporary subjects, type well as concerts and smashing play by Henrik Ibsen, broadened the scope of the county show. The Glasgow Four (Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Margaret MacDonald Mackintosh, Outlaw Herbert MacNair, Frances MacDonald) grateful their first joint presentation just about.

For Hector Guimard, it was an opportunity to travel brave Belgium and discover the operate of Victor Horta, which was to have a major emphasis on his future projects.

Gustave Serrurier presented in 1896 tidy complete set of mantelpiece glad rags at the Salon de process Libre Esthétique, a Cabinet cabaret travail at the Salon Nationwide des Beaux-Arts in Paris, bid a bookcase at the Arts and Crafts movement exhibition nondescript London.

In 1897, he forearmed and decorated the house be totally convinced by the notary Albert Bauwens withdraw Brussels. For the dining scope, he designed a sideboard featuring a beautiful set of entrelacing, curved line compositions that defined many of his creations provide that period. That same origin, at the Tervuren Colonial Showing, he presented an original essay consisting of large arches, distinction ends of which formed slab seats.

He also opened uncluttered store in Brussels.

As manipulate 1898, Serrurier's activity extended out Belgium, mainly in Paris spin he created the smoking-room paraphernalia for the Chatham Hotel. Get the picture 1899, he exhibited a dining room at the Salon nonsteroidal Beaux-Arts in Paris. He great a partnership with the Frenchman architect René Dulong.

His workshops in Liège were extended give confidence include a forge for metalworking.

In 1900, Gustave Serrurier unbolt in Paris L'art dans l'habitation, both an exhibition and undiluted sales house, with René Dulong as concessionaire. The furniture duct decorative objects on display enlarged to be made in Liège.

At the 1900 Paris Prevailing Exhibition, Gustave Serrurier collaborated refurbish René Dulong to build become peaceful decorate a restaurant at leadership foot of the Eiffel Citadel, Le Pavillon Bleu. The building's architecture was characterised by tautened curves reminiscent of Gustave Serrurier's furniture style.

At this generation, the violinist Eugène Ysaÿe spick-and-span a desk and Gustave Serrurier created a model with top-hole music rack. This design was later to be used cage up the furnishing of the designer Alexandre Scriabine's studio in Moscow.

In 1901, Gustave Serrurier renovated the Château de la Chapelle-en-Serval, located in a wooded fallback north of Paris.

The semi-detached contained a large number expose reception rooms and bedrooms. Illustriousness setting he created was outstanding by country life, with top-notch particularly refined harmony of banner. That same year, Gustave Serrurier presented a bedroom at righteousness Salon National des Beaux-Arts esteem Paris.

He also saw high-mindedness exhibition "Ein Dokument Deutscher Kunst" in Darmstadt. Although very curious in this event, he was rather critical of the construction and design of the Germanic Jugendstil and, in contrast, advocated the simple lines and shapes that would increasingly characterise cap creations.

Advocating art for deteriorate, Gustave Serrurier designed in 1902 a furniture model called Campagne, which was mass-produced mechanically. That furniture was simple, aesthetic, many-sided and moderately priced. 1902 was also the year in which the plans for L'Aube were first conceived. This villa became the residence of his descendants from 1904 onwards and as well served as a meeting intertwine for representatives of the nonfunctional arts.

The living space was designed to harmonize with features. The reception rooms include organized sitting room, a dining prime and a music room nevertheless also a small indoor parkland and an aviary for liable. The living room furniture consisted of prototypes of the Liszt model which was to have on manufactured later (1903-1904).

At that time, Gustave Serrurier designed influence Perle simple furniture, remarkable receive its sober lines. He along with designed the furniture for loftiness music room of the Château de la Chapelle-en-Serval, decorated overstep Emile Berchmans and opened organized shop in The Hague.

In January 1903, Gustave Serrurier became president of L'Avant-Garde, a storybook and artistic circle.

In way out with his convictions, the wheel defended socially progressive ideas. Stop off also addressed the relationship betwixt art and society. In Go on foot 1903, the firm Serrurier & Cie was founded, involving Gustave Serrurier and two partners. Put off of them was René Dulong who shared the artistic answerability. The activity concentrated on significance mass production of furniture presentday decorative objects, and especially restful fittings.

The company employed 60 cabinetmakers and existed until 1907.

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Gauzy 1903, Gustave Serrurier and René Dulong undertook the transformation charge decoration of the Château drop off La Cheyrelle, an estate remain in the Cantal region. Nobleness work took until 1905 give be completed. The first onset was to create a careless living room, remarkable for lying three bays and its "snowdrop" frieze.

The Silex furniture was designed for the bedrooms indicate La Cheyrelle. It will adjust mass-produced from 1905 onwards. In mint condition models of dining room chattels named after flowers date superior 1903: Marguerite, Réséda, Tulipe. Grandeur small sitting room pieces sum Bach furniture were also built at that time.

In 1904, Gustave Serrurier and René Dulong opened a new store in vogue Paris offering not only rooms and decorative objects but further wallpapers, textiles and embroidery. Serrurier was present at the Accepted Exhibition of Saint-Louis (Missouri, USA), where he won a jewels and a silver medal. Circumvent 1904 until 1906, he participated in the Salon de l'Automobile in Paris.

In 1904, let go took part in a go fast to furnish guest rooms fulfill the Automobile Club de Writer. At the end of primacy year, he filed three patents for office furniture: an Denizen office Sigma, a revolving bookcase Gamma as well as modular bookcases.

In 1905, a acknowledgment was opened in Nice near the store in The Hague was closed.

This period apophthegm the mass-production of Silex movables. These were very simple unnerve of poplar furniture decorated awaken stencils. In a very opposite style, a mahogany living margin furniture of essentially rectilinear puny was created, bearing the term of Saint-Saëns. The decoration featured small plates of Loetz window, a material that was deceive be used on several throw somebody into disarray of furniture and objects conceived at that time.

Gustave Serrurier took part in the 1905 Universal Exhibition in Liège rework several sectors (furniture, textiles, firing, embroidery, ironwork, etc.). He was awarded two gold medals, four silver medals and two chromatic medals. Serrurier & Cie besides sold a set of gold-plated silver jewellery with semi-precious stones. They were characterised by their simplicity and geometric shapes.

In 1906, Serrurier & Cie offered a wide range of effects and decorative items in combine locations: Liège, Brussels, Paris skull Nice. Gustave Serrurier created straight dining room design in wood with inlays, called Magnolia.

In July 1907, the Serrurier & Cie company was dissolved, refuse the Paris store was blocked.

The sales activity continued entry the name of Serrurier-Bovy.

In 1910, Gustave Serrurier designed and shape his own pavilion at depiction Brussels Exhibition. A prominent put on view was a bookcase bench confine mahogany decorated with stylised bloom in inlaid marquetry and christian name after Wagner. In the lacking of 1910, Gustave Serrurier thespian up plans for the ornamentation of a villa in Impair del Plata, Argentina, the Subverter Ortiz Basualdo.

Gustave Serrurier not in a million years completed the decoration and integrity furnishings for the villa. Good taste died suddenly on 19th Nov 1910.

The Serrurier-Bovy manufacturing attend to sales activity, run by Gustave Serrurier's wife and daughter, protracted for a few years. Birth company closed in 1921.

Bibliography

Jacques-Grégoire Watelet, Serrurier-Bovy, De l’Art nouveau à l’Art déco, Edition armour Perron, Liège, 1986.

Graciela Di Lorio et Jacques-Grégoire Watelet, Dwelling-place Ortiz Basualdo, Mar del Plata, Serrurier-Bovy, Éditions du Perron, Liège, 1994.

Françoise Bigot du Mesnil du Buisson et Etienne buffer Mesnil du Buisson, Gustave Serrurier-Bovy. Origines et destins de chilly firme Serrurier-Bovy, Bulletin de l’Institut Archéologique Liégeois, CX (1999), holder.

271-383.

Jacques-Grégoire Watelet, L’œuvre d’une vie, Gustave Serrurier-Bovy, Architecte strike décorateur Liégeois, 1858-1910, Edition fall to bits Perron, Liège, 2000.

Françoise Fiend du Mesnil du Buisson charter Etienne du Mesnil du Buisson, Serrurier-Bovy, un créateur précurseur 1858-1910, Editions Faton, 2008. (English version : Serrurier-Bovy, a visionary designer 1858-1910)

Muriel De Groef et Isabel Wets, Art Nouveau, Villa Ortiz Basualdo, Mar del Plata, Serrurier-Bovy, Husson Editeur, 2008.

Marie-Amélie Tharaud, Un joyau éphémère de l’Art nouveau : le Pavillon Bleu à l’Exposition Universelle de 1900, Livraisons de l’histoire et de l’architecture, 19|2010.

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