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 Art Nouveau "Ombellifères" Settee and Side Chairs
By Louis Majorelle
Located in New York, NY
A French Art Nouveau carved wood "Ombellifères" suite, consisting of two armchairs and a settee, by Louis Majorelle. The suite is hand carved with capitals of Berce des Prés (Hogweed...
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
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
$18,000 / set
Louis Majorelle Art Nouveau Dining Chairs, 10
By Louis Majorelle
Located in Astoria, NY
Set of Ten Louis Majorelle Art Nouveau Mohair Covered Mahogany Dining Chairs, circa 1900, comprising: two armchairs and eight side chairs, unsigned. Armchairs: 46" H x 24" W x 22" D;...
Mohair, Mahogany
French Art Nouveau bench, sofa by Louis Majorelle, 1900-1910
By Louis Majorelle
Located in Delft, NL
French Art Nouveau bench, sofa by Louis Majorelle, 1900-1910 A beautiful sofa with a highly polished wooden frame, covered with satin fabric with an Art Nouveau pattern. Beautifully...
Fabric, Wood
Louis Majorelle Aux Alges Carved Mahogany Bench
By Louis Majorelle
Located in Dallas, TX
Louis Majorelle 1859–1926 Aux Algues Mahogany Bench Bench with hand carved foliate details c. 1900 mahogany, upholstered cushion Dimensions: 49¼ h × 62½ w × 22 d in (125 × 159 × 56 c...
Mahogany
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
$9,500 / set
French Art Nouveau Chairs by Louis Majorelle
By Louis Majorelle
Located in Bridgewater, CT
French Art Nouveau chairs by Louis Majorelle.
Wood
Set of 8 Louis Majorelle Carved Walnut and Sage Green Muslin Side Chairs
By Louis Majorelle
Located in Queens, NY
Set of 8 French Art Nouveau side chairs with carved walnut frames, openwork backs featuring a central upholstered section and seat upholstered in a sage green muslin. (LOUIS MAJORELL...
Wood, Fabric, Upholstery, Walnut
Louis Majorelle French Art Nouveau Walnut Bergére Arm Chair
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 Mahogany & Blue Patterned Upholstered Settee
By Louis Majorelle
Located in Queens, NY
French Art Nouveau walnut frame Settee with slightly flaired arms and shaped back upholstered in a lightly patterned gray-blue fabric with matching upholstered pillow. (LOUIS MAJOREL...
Fabric, Upholstery, Walnut
Louis Majorelle, Importante Armchair "Les Tomates"
By Louis Majorelle
Located in NEUILLY-SUR-SEINE, FR
Louis Majorelle (1859-1926), rare high-backed armchair "Les Tomates," Made of ribbed, molded, and carved walnut, this armchair features a rich, plant-inspired decoration: ornate c...
Nutwood
$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
Art Nouveau Giltwood settee by Louis Majorelle
By Louis Majorelle
Located in Montreal, QC
Art Nouveau Giltwood settee by Louis Majorelle with japonesque organic carving Similar furniture pictured in Majorelle: Master of Art Nouveau by Alastair Duncan, p.179, fig. 46.
Wood
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
Early 1900s Art Populaire French fermette bench
Located in Antwerpen, VAN
This rustic French fermette bench from the early 1900s is a true piece of Art Populaire furniture. Built from solid wood, it shows heavy wear, age, and beautiful patina that highligh...
Wood
Vintage Spanish Baroque Carved Mahogany Bench
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Condition: New Upholstery Recommended, Wood In Very Good Condition Designer: The Zangerle & Peterson Co. Manufacturer: The Zangerle & Peterson Co. Materials: Mahogany, Original Ne...
Iron
Art Nouveau Bentwood Ebonised Bench Circa 1900
By Thonet
Located in Norwich, GB
Art Nouveau ebonised bentwood bench. No 96. Circa 1900. There is no maker's mark, but almost certainly made by Thonet or J&J Kohn in Vienna, Austria. The bench is in good original ...
Cane, Bentwood
French Art Deco Bench
By Jules Leleu, Dominique, André Arbus, Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann, Francisque Chaleyssin
Located in Houston, TX
French Art Deco Bench. This lovely period French Art Deco walnut bench dates to the 1930's with a U shaped design that has been newly upholstered in a beautiful cut velvet fabric tha...
Velvet, Walnut
Vintage Le Corbusier Armchair LC1 by Cassina
By Cassina, Le Corbusier
Located in Vilnius, LT
Vintage LC1 chair designed by Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret, Charlotte Perriand, circa 1928. Base in chromed tubular steel, pony skin upholstery. Marked/engraved on the frame: Cass...
Chrome
19th-century French Carved Mahogany and Mohair Bench
Located in San Francisco, CA
This 19th-century French bench, crafted by hand in the Louis XV style, features flowing curves such as the serpentine-front seat, as well as hand-carved details like S-shaped cabriol...
Mohair, Mahogany
$1,595 / set
H 34.25 in W 22 in D 18 in
Late 18th Century French Louis XVI Period Hand Carved Walnut Armchairs
Located in Fayetteville, AR
This pair of late eighteenth century French Louis XVI period armchairs features its original paint worn to a beautiful patina that only comes with age. This classic pair features med...
Mohair, Walnut
Vintage Le Corbusier Armchair LC1 by Cassina
By Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret, Cassina, Charlotte Perriand
Located in Vilnius, LT
Vintage LC1 chair designed by Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret, Charlotte Perriand, circa 1928. Base in black painted tubular steel, cognac color leather upholstery. Marked/engraved o...
Steel
Mahogany Bench on Carved Legs
Located in Woodbury, CT
About the size of a dining chair, this little bench tucks neatly under a sideboard or table until such time that it is needed. On four well-executed cabriole legs with deeply carved ...
Upholstery, Mahogany
$7,153
H 35.44 in W 50.01 in D 22.45 in
Art Nouveau Settee No. 717 by Gustav Siegel for J.J. Kohn, 1899
By Gustav Siegel, Jacob & Josef Kohn
Located in Beograd, RS
In this listing you will find a stunning, rare settee Model No. 717 designed by Gustav Siegel in 1899 and produced by the renowned Viennese furniture manufacturer Jacob & Josef Kohn ...
Brass
Vintage Le Corbusier Armchair LC1 by Cassina
By Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret, Cassina, Charlotte Perriand
Located in Vilnius, LT
Vintage LC1 chair designed by Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret, Charlotte Perriand, circa 1928. Base in chrome tubular steel, cognac color leather upholstery. Marked/engraved on the f...
Steel
Vintage Le Corbusier Armchair LC1 by Cassina
By Le Corbusier, Cassina
Located in Vilnius, LT
Vintage LC1 chair designed by Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret, Charlotte Perriand, circa 1928. Base in chromed tubular steel, white leather upholstery. Marked/engraved on the frame: ...
Chrome
Sold
H 41.25 in W 17.5 in D 16.5 in
Set of 6 Louis Majorelle Foliate Carved Mahogany Beige Upholstered Side Chairs
By Louis Majorelle
Located in Queens, NY
SET of 6 French Art Nouveau side chairs with carved walnut frames featuring carved foliate embellishments at the tops of each chair back and the tops of the front legs, upholstered i...
Wood, Mahogany, Fabric, Upholstery
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
Louis Majorelle French Art Nouveau Carved Wood "Ombellifères" Suite
By Louis Majorelle
Located in New York, NY
A pair of French Art Nouveau carved wood "Ombellifères" armchairs by Louis Majorelle with flower and leaf decoration and patterned upholstery with matching settee. Similar furnitur...
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...