Louis Majorelle

(French, 1859–1926)

Louis Majorelle was a French designer and decorator working in the late 19th century. His furniture was created in the Art Nouveau style, which utilized organic curves and fine ornamentation. Born Louis-Jean-Sylvestre Majorelle on September 26, 1859 in Toul, France, he began his career as a painter, studying at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 1877, before inheriting his father’s furniture business and settling in Nancy. His early design work was primary in the style of Rococo Revival and later shifted with the influence of Émile Gallé. Majorelle went on to design the elaborate Villa Majorelle in collaboration with the architects Lucien Weissenburger and Henri Sauvage. Majorelle died on January 15, 1926 in Nancy, France.