Background
Grasset was born in Lausanne, Switzerland, his birth year is sometimes stated as 1841. He was raised in an artistic environment as the son of a cabinet designer/maker and sculptor.
painter sculptor type designer poster artist
Grasset was born in Lausanne, Switzerland, his birth year is sometimes stated as 1841. He was raised in an artistic environment as the son of a cabinet designer/maker and sculptor.
He studied drawing under Francois-Louis David Bocion (1828–1890) and in 1861 went to Zurich to study architecture.
He is considered a pioneer in Art Nouveau design. After completing his education, he visited Egypt, an experience that would later be reflected in a number of his poster designs. He became an admirer of Japanese art, which influenced some of his designs.
Between 1869 and 1870, Grasset worked as a painter and sculptor in Lausanne.
He moved to Paris in 1871 where he designed furniture, fabrics and tapestries as well as ceramics and jewelry. His fine art decorative pieces were crafted from ivory, gold and other precious materials in unique combinations and his creations are considered a cornerstone of Art Nouveau motifs and patterns.
In 1877 Eugène Grasset turned to graphic design, producing income-generating products such as postcards and eventually postage stamps for both France and Switzerland. However, it was poster art that quickly became his forte.
Some of his works became part of the Maîtres de l"Affiche including his lithograph, "Jeanne d"Arc Sarah Bernhardt." In 1890, he designed the "Semeuse who spreads seeds of dandelion" logo used by the dictionary publishers, Éditions Larousse.
With the growing popularity of French posters in the United States, Grasset was soon contacted by several American companies. In the 1880s, he did his first American commission and more success led to his cover design for the 1892 Christmas issue of Harper"s Magazine. In 1894 Grasset created "The Wooly Horse" and "The Sun of Austerlitz" for The Century Magazine to help advertise their serialized story on the life of Napoleon Bonaparte.
The "Wooly Horse" image proved so popular that Louis Comfort Tiffany recreated it in stained glass.
Grasset"s work for United States. institutions helped pave the way for Art Nouveau to dominate American art Grasset taught design at the École Guérin from 1890 to 1903, at the École d’Art graphique in the rue Madame from 1903 to 1904, at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière from 1904 to 1913 and at the École Estienne in Paris.
Among his students were Paul Berthon, Georges Bourgeot, Paul Follow, Marcelle Gaudin, Augusto Giacometti, Arsène Herbinier, Anna Martin, Mathurin Méheut, Juliette Milési, Otto Ernst Schmidt, Auguste Silice, Maurice Pillard Verneuil, Aline Poitevin, Pierre Selmersheim, Tony Selmersheim, Camille Gabriel Schlumberger, Eliseu Visconti, and Philippe Wolfers
At the Universal Exhibition of 1900 in Paris, the G. Peignot et Fils typefoundry, introduced the "Grasset" typeface, an Italic design Eugène Grasset created in 1898 for use on some of his posters. Eugène Grasset died in 1917 in Sceaux in the Hauts-de-Seine département, southwest of Paris.
Cantonal Museum of Fine Arts, Lausanne, 2011.
Les petites faunesses
La Belle Jardiniere – March
Girl in the Garden
Suzy Deguez
Jalousie
Three Women and Three Wolves
Jeanne d'Arc/Sarah Bernhardt
La Belle Jardiniere – June
Harper's Magazine
Bonne nouvelle
La Belle Jardiniere – Septembre
Madrid International Exposition
The June Century, Napoleon in Egypt
Librairie Romantique
Self-portrait
Ne Plus Ultra. Reino de Espana
Joan of Arc
Méditation
Abricotine
La Morphiniste
La Belle Jardiniere – April
La Belle Jardiniere – January
A La Place Clichy
La Belle Jardiniere – December
Danger
Spring
Esclarmonde
Grafton Gallery, from Les Affiche Illustrees
Nouveau Larousse Illustre
Anxiété
Encre L'Marquet
La Belle Jardiniere – May
Un duel judiciaire au vie siècle
La Belle Jardiniere – November
Affiche pour The Century Magazine, Napoléon
La Belle Jardiniere – Octobre
The Art of Drawing
Froideur
Woman Science
Inquiétude
Ne Plus Ultra. Reino de Espana 1893
La Belle Jardiniere – July
La Belle Jardiniere – August
Tentation
La Belle Jardiniere – February