Louis-Jean-Sylvestre Majorelle, more commonly known as Louis Majorelle, was a French artist, metalworker and Art Nouveau designer celebrated for his bedroom furniture, cabinets, chairs and decorative objects.
In 1877, Majorelle moved to Paris from the town of Nancy where he began his studies in painting under Jean-François Millet at the École de Beaux Arts. Following the death of his father, a furniture designer, he returned to Nancy and took over the family workshop. Parisian architect Henri Sauvage designed Majorelle’s house in Nancy, Villa Majorelle, which featured stained glass by Jacques Gruber.
In order to increase productivity and reduce costs — as well as shift the family business’s focus from reproductions of 18th-century furniture such as Louis XV chairs to instead working in the era’s Art Nouveau style — Majorelle integrated modern techniques and processes at his atelier (these changes were in part inspired by innovative glassmaker Emile Gallé).
The workshop became known for Majorelle’s distinctive designs and the pronounced craftsmanship of its offerings. There were tables made from mahogany and ormolu that featured handsome bronze mounts and marquetry, table lamps that shared common ground with the prized designs associated with Tiffany Studios, and decorative pieces that Majorelle produced in partnership with Daum, a revered manufacturer of French art glass.
The work was very much characterized by the botanical motifs and curvaceous silhouettes of Art Nouveau design, and the business was successful. Majorelle produced a range of items during the early 1900s and was a participant in the 1900 Paris Exposition as well as the Exposition de l'Ecole de Nancy in 1903.
In 1916, a devastating fire broke out in Majorelle’s factory on the rue du Vieil-Aître in Nancy. It destroyed all of the company’s awards, sketches, molds, equipment and archives of Majorelle’s work. In 1917, destruction again shook his business when his shop on the rue Saint-Georges was bombed by German aircraft. The designer marched on — he relocated to Paris where he shared a workspace and created vases and other vessels in the Art Deco style before he moved back to Nancy. Majorelle designed the Nancy Pavilion at the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts in 1925 with Alfred Lévy. He died in 1926.
Find antique Louis Majorelle cabinets, seating and decorative objects on 1stDibs.
Louis Majorelle "Les Pins" Carved Mahogany Armchair
By Louis Majorelle
Located in New York, NY
This hand-carved wooden armchair, named "Le Pins," embodies the Art Nouveau style of Louis Majorelle, featuring intricate carvings of pine needles and pinecones. Reflecting Majorelle...
Upholstery, Mahogany
Louis Majorelle. Art Nouveau carved walnut armchair with original period fabric
By Louis Majorelle
Located in London, GB
An Art Nouveau armchair in carved walnut retaining the original period fabric that has an extra back pad stitched to the top of the back rest. A slight variation to this armchair can...
Walnut
Louis Majorelle - Rare high-back armchair “Les Tomates”
By Louis Majorelle
Located in NEUILLY-SUR-SEINE, FR
Louis Majorelle (1859–1926) Rare high-back armchair “Les Tomates” (The Tomatoes) Armchair in ribbed, molded, and carved walnut, decorated with vegetal motifs: ornate capitals, ribbe...
Walnut
Louis Majorelle Art Nouveau Walnut Bergère Armchair with Floral Trim
By Louis Majorelle
Located in Queens, NY
French Art Nouveau walnut bergere arm chair with carved floral trim and filigree back. (LOUIS MAJORELLE)
Walnut, Upholstery
Louis Majorelle French Art Nouveau Armchair
By Louis Majorelle
Located in New York, NY
A French Art Nouveau walnut armchair by Louis Majorelle, featuring sinuously curved arms and legs. The top of the chair is decorated with an intricately carved floral motif. It is up...
Upholstery, Walnut
$30,000Sale Price / set|53% Off
Pair of Louis Majorelle Armchairs
By Louis Majorelle
Located in Pompano Beach, FL
A pair of walnut armchairs by Louis Majorelle.
Leather, Walnut
$4,006 / set
H 33.67 in W 30.12 in D 21.46 in
Antique Pair of Napoleon III circa 1870 Gold Giltwood Bergere Armchairs Louis
Located in West Sussex, Pulborough
We are delighted to offer this stunning pair of original circa 1860-1870 Napoleon III Louis XVI style bergère armchairs which are part of a suite These chairs come with a matchin...
Giltwood
19th Century French Louis XV Bergère Armchair
Located in Munich, DE
19th century French Louis XV Bergère armchairs in their original patina still very comfortable, perfect for deco or your next project...
Wood
$2,800Sale Price|22% Off
H 38 in W 29 in D 28 in
French Louis XVI Style Bergère Armchair Upholstered Green Velvet, 19th Century
Located in Montreal, Quebec
French Louis XVI style bergère armchair upholstered in sage green velvet, 19th century Deep and comfortable, Classic French ch...
Velvet, Wood
French Louis XVI Style Bergère
Located in Westwood, NJ
Inspired by an 18th-century original, this fauteuil features a finely carved frame with a paper twist arched top rail, gently downswept padded arms terminating in intricate scrolls, ...
Wood
French Louis XV Style Caned Bergère Armchair
Located in Montreal, Quebec
Rare early 19th century caned Louis XV bergère armchair in very good condition featuring graceful curves and hand carved. The graceful walnut frame is complimented with caning on all...
Wood
Louis XV Carved Walnut Armchair, c1740
Located in valatie, NY
An early 18th century French carved walnut armchair with hand-caned seat and back. The frame is constructed in the customary 18th c Louis XV manner with pinned mortise and tenon and ...
Walnut
$2,466
H 37.8 in W 31.5 in D 24.81 in
Louis XV French Bergere Armchair Finished with Black Leather & Brass Stud Detail
Located in Reading, Berkshire
A Black Leather Louis XV French Bergere Design Armchair Finished with Brass Stud Detailing, Ideal For The Study, Office or Library. Measure: Height to seat 47cm.
Brass
$950
H 33.25 in W 22.75 in D 20 in
French Louis XV Style Carved Mahogany & Needlepoint Fauteuil Armchair c1920
Located in Big Flats, NY
An exquisite antique French Louis XV style fauteuil armchair, crafted from carved mahogany. This elegant armchair features a classic fauteuil form with gracefully curved arms and leg...
Mahogany
Pair of Louis XVI Style Armchairs
Located in Southampton, NY
Pair of Louis XVI style armchairs covered in cut velvet fabric. Carved foliage and shell motif at the top. Very good condition. Two s...
Velvet
$9,450Sale Price / set|24% Off
H 33.25 in W 29.75 in D 22.25 in
Pair of French Belle Époque Louis XV Style GiltWood Carved Bergère Armchairs
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A fine pair of French Belle Époque 19th-20th century Louis XV style giltwood carved Bergère Armchairs. The finely carved frames centered with floral torch tied with a ribbon, flanked...
Upholstery, Giltwood
$3,984Sale Price / set|20% Off
H 39 in W 28 in D 25 in
Pair 19th Century French Louis XV, Regence Armchairs, Bergeres
Located in Dallas, TX
Pair 19th century French Louis XV - Regence armchairs ~ Bergeres are an incredibly stylish way to add comfortable seating to your favorite room! Upholstered in a very high-quality ta...
Tapestry, Walnut
$3,076
H 38 in W 24 in D 28 in
Italian 1910s Art Nouveau Armchair Hand Carved walnut , Eugenio Quarti manner
Located in Vigonza, Padua
Code: FL25 Elegant original Italian Art Nouveau armchair in solid blond walnut with, new Velvet Upholstered, The style is that of Eugenio Quarti (1867-1929) - Italian Furniture & Ca...
Velvet, Walnut
Louis Majorelle "Les Pins" Armchair
By Louis Majorelle
Located in New York, NY
This exquisite “Les Pins” walnut armchair by Louis Majorelle exemplifies the artist’s refined interpretation of nature within the Art Nouveau movement. The rosewood-veneered seat rai...
Upholstery, Walnut
Sold
H 32.25 in W 36.75 in D 21 in
Pair of French Art Nouveau Armchairs by, Louis Majorelle Arm Chairs
By Louis Majorelle
Located in Englewood, NJ
A pair of Early 20th Century French Art Nouveau carved wood "Aubépine" armchairs by, Louis Majorelle. Both chairs are decorated on their back edges, arms, legs and skirt with carved hawthorn leaves and berry decoration upholstered in a off/cream white light snake pattern. circa 1905 Measurements: height: 32.25 in. (81.92 cm) x width: 36.75 in. (93.35 cm) x depth: 21 in. (53.34 cm) Condition: chairs are in overall very good condition with light wear. Fabric is not period. Literature: Similar chairs are pictured in: -Majorelle - Nancy: décorations d'INTÉRIEURS: meubles, tentures, bronzes, ferronneries (the 1906 Majorelle catalogue), and in: Louis Majorelle: Master of Art Nouveau design, by Alastair Duncan, New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1991, p. 200. -Alastair Duncan, Louis Majorelle: Master of Art Nouveau Design, London, 1991, pp. 167, 183 and 200 -Majorelle: Un Art de Vivre Moderne, exh. cat., Musée de l'École de Nancy, France, 2009, p. 130 Biography : Louis Majorelle, (France; 1859 – 1926) born as Louis-Jean-Sylvestre Majorelle was a French decorator and furniture designer who manufactured his own designs, in the French tradition of the ébéniste. He was one of the outstanding designers of furniture in the Art Nouveau style, and after 1901 formally served as one of the vice-presidents of the École de Nancy. The Majorelle firm's factory was designed by famous École de Nancy architect Lucien Weissenburger (1860 – 1929) and located at 6, rue du Vieil-Aître in the western part of Nancy. In the 1880s Majorelle turned out pastiches of Louis XV furniture styles, which he exhibited in 1894 at the Exposition d'Art Décoratif et Industriel [Exposition of Decorative and Industrial Art] in Nancy, but the influence of the glass- and furniture-maker Emile Gallé (1846 – 1904) inspired him to take his production in new directions. Beginning in the 1890s, Majorelle's furniture, embellished with inlays, took their inspiration from nature: stems of plants, waterlily leaves, tendrils, dragonflies. Before 1900 he added a metalworking atelier to the workshops, to produce drawerpulls and mounts in keeping with the fluid lines of his woodwork. His studio also was responsible for the ironwork of balconies, staircase railings...
Upholstery, Wood
Art Nouveau Majorelle 5 Pieces Salon
By Louis Majorelle
Located in Bridgewater, CT
French Art Nouveau sofa, 2 armchairs and 2 chairs by Louis Majorelle. Measures: Sofa: height 46", width 50", depth 21" Armchairs: height 41.5...
Fabric, Wood
Sold
H 29.5 in W 26.5 in D 29 in
Louis Majorelle, Art Nouveau Mahogany Desck Chair, France, circa 1925
By Louis Majorelle
Located in New York, NY
This beautiful desk chair, with elegant sloping lines, and finely detailed carving, is a marvelous example of the work of famed Art Nouveau master Ebeniste Louis Majorelle.
Mahogany
French Art Nouveau Armchair by Louis Majorelle
By Louis Majorelle
Located in Bridgewater, CT
French Art Nouveau armchair by Louis Majorelle. Measures: Width 22", depth: 23", height: 35". In good condition.
Wood
Pair of French Art Nouveau Beach Wood Armchairs by Louis Majorelle
By Louis Majorelle
Located in New York, NY
A pair of French Art Nouveau beachwood armchairs by Louis Majorelle. The chairs feature curved seats, twisted curvilinear arms and backrests ornamen...
Pair of "Aux Fougères" Armchairs by Majorelle
By Louis Majorelle
Located in New York, NY
A pair of French Art Nouveau "aux Fougères" armchairs by Louis Majorelle. These chairs are decorated on their back edges,ams, legs and seat supports with carved fern fronds...
Pair of "Clematis" Armchairs by Louis Majorelle
By Louis Majorelle
Located in New York, NY
A pair of French Art Nouveau "Clematis" armchairs by Louis Majorelle. The back and frame of each chair is carved with clematis flowers. Cle...
Pair of French Art Nouveau "Clematis" Armchairs by Louis Majorelle
By Louis Majorelle
Located in New York, NY
A pair of French Art Nouveau "Clematis" armchairs by Louis Majorelle. The back and frame of each chair is carved with clematis flowers. Clematis was one of several natural motifs emp...
Upholstery, Wood
French Art Nouveau “Aux Nenuphars” Desk and Armchair
By Louis Majorelle
Located in New York, NY
A French “Aux Nenuphars” desk and armchair by Louis Majorelle. Circa 1900. A similar desk is pictured in: The Paris Salons 1895-1915, Vol. III: Furniture, by Alastair Duncan, Woo...
French Art Nouveau Armchair by Louis Majorelle
By Louis Majorelle
Located in New York, NY
A French Art Nouveau armchair by Louis Majorelle. A similar chair is pictured in: Louis Majorelle: Master of Art Nouveau design, by Alas...
Louis Majorelle Pair of French Art Nouveau Armchairs
By Louis Majorelle
Located in New York, NY
A pair of French Art Nouveau marquetry armchairs by Louis Majorelle, featuring inlaid marquetry on the chair backs in a floral motif, and carved “duck bill” arms. Circa 1900. Simil...