Napoleon's new life (1769-1821), Lithography, 1894. (WhiteImages/Leemage)
Whiteimages/Leemage
Draft of the "Grasset Romain" typeface, presented at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1900.
Grasset
Botanical study of the buttercup, Lithography, Paris, 1897. (Florilegius/Leemage)
Florilegius/Leemage
Buttercups in Art Nouveau patterns for carpets and a vase, Paris, 1897. (Florilegius/Leemage)
Florilegius/Leemage
'Harmony' musicians and animals, Paris, Musée d'Orsay, 1893. (Josse/Leemage)
Josse/Leemage
Conquering the skies: airships and balloons over Paris. Cover in "Figaro Illustrious" from February 1909, Bibliotheque des Arts decoratifs, Paris. (Josse/Leemage)
Josse/Leemage
Calendar "La Belle Jardiniere" July, 1896. (Photo12/Archives Snark)
Photo12/Archives Snark
He had a decisive influence on the renewal of decorative art in France during the Art Nouveau period. Eugène Grasset, who was born in Switzerland and later became a French citizen, died 100 years ago today.
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Has been a member of the editorial board of swissinfo.ch since 2015. Previously (2006-2015) he headed the Retail Banking section for the Zurich investors’ newspaper Finanz und Wirtschaft. Graduated in New Media Journalism (Master of Arts, 2014, University of Leipzig) and economics (bachelor’s degree, 1999, University of Bern).
Reto Gysi von Wartburg, (Text) Ester Unterfinger (Photo selection)
Eugène Grasset was born in Lausanne in 1845. After studying architecture in Zurich and traveling to Egypt, he worked as a painter and sculptor before settling in Paris at the age of 26. Thanks to contacts with artists from Cabaret Le Chat Noir and the Charles Gillot printer, Grasset was involved in the industrial and aesthetic renewal of furniture, illustration and poster art.
After his exhibition at the Salon des Cent in 1894, Grasset became the master of the new generation that was emerging at the time. This included the Swiss painter Augusto Giacometti (1877-1947).
Grasset not only created the famous “Semeuse à tout vent”, the sower who became the logo of the publisher Larousse. He also designed his own typeface, the “Grasset”.
On October 23, 1917 Grasset died at the age of 72 in Sceaux, France.
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