Galle Furniture

Emille Galle was one of the great names of the Art Nouveau movement in France, and founder of the famous Ecole de Nancy. A polymath and committed social activist, he was best known for his glasswork and faience. Furniture became his third discipline after experimenting with the manufacture of wooden bases on which he could mount his glass vases. Following the French tradition of furniture decoration known as marqueterie, his work is characterised by its meticulous decorative veneers, stained with subtle organic dyes; and panels inlaid with stunningly intricate country scenes and flowers. This important book outlines all of Galle’s major works of furniture, from the pieces uniques that were designed for an exclusive clientele, to those displayed between 1889 and 1904 at the annual Paris Salons and two World Expositions. The recent emergence of many of his objets de luxe enables the reader to understand many of his pieces for the first time. Written by Decorative Arts specialist Alastair Duncan, ‘Galle Furniture’ documents the history of Galle’s furniture production from his favourite motifs to the ways in which he used furniture design to express his social and political ideals. Duncan includes an encyclopedic range of models created in the Galle Workshops both during and after his lifetime. Beautifully illustrated, and containing translations of Galle’s ‘Notes to the Juries’ of the World Expositions, this stunning publication will leave the reader captivated by this remarkable expression of the new art that changed the European aesthetic forever.