1989.40.A-C, Cabinet, c. 1900–1910, Louis Majorelle (French, 1859–1926), maker, Mahogany, oak, walnut, exotic hardwoods, and gilt bronze

Although design centers in Belgium and Germany produced distinctive objects in the undulating Art Nouveau style, the city of Nancy, France, in the northeastern province of Lorraine was the most important center of this style between 1890 and 1910. The leaders of the artists' collaborative dubbed "School of Nancy" were Émile Gallé (1846–1904) and Louis Majorelle (1859-1926). While Gallé earned fame for his creative glass, Marjorelle focused primarily on designs for luxuriously sculptural inlaid furniture mounted with elegant hardware.

This impeccably executed cabinet is exemplary of the work of Majorelle’s studio. The use of marquetry on the cabinet doors and backboard is especially fine. In this technique, hundreds of pieces of exotic woods are cut to the desired shape and then assembled together to form naturalistic pictures. Here, for example, a gaggle of geese decorate the central lower doors. Upon close inspection, one can distinguish Majorelle’s signature worked entirely in marquetry.

The city of Nancy, France, became the major center for expertly crafted decorative arts in a sinuous, organic idiom. The leaders of the artists' collaborative dubbed L’École de Nancy were Émile Gallé and Louis Marjorelle. While Gallé earned fame for his creative glass, Marjorelle focused primarily on designs for luxuriously sculptural inlaid furniture mounted with elegant hardware. This impeccably executed sideboard illustrates his workshop's forte in marquetry decoration consisting of hundreds of bits of exotic woods shaped and assembled into intricate representations of flora and fauna, such as the plump geese seen here on the central lower doors, flanked by squash-blossom-bedecked side cabinets.

Bonnie Pitman, ed., "The Seine at Lavacourt," in Dallas Museum of Art: A Guide to the Collection (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2012), 199.

Although design centers in Belgium and Germany produced distinctive objects in the undulating Art Nouveau style, the French city of Nancy in the northeastern province of Lorraine was the most important center of this style between 1890 and 1910. The leaders of this "School of Nancy" were Emile Galle (1846–1904) and Louis Majorelle.

This cabinet is exemplary of the work of Majorelle’s studio. The use of marquetry on the cabinet doors and backboard is especially fine. In this technique, hundreds of pieces of exotic woods are cut to the desired shape and then fitted together to form naturalistic pictures. Here, for example, a gaggle of geese decorate the lower doors. Upon close inspection, one can distinguish Majorelle’s signature worked entirely in marquetry.

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