Eugene Alain (E.A.) Seguy (1889-1985) (after)
Samarkande – 20 Compositions en Couleurs dans le Style Oriental
[Samarkand – 20 Compositions in Color in the Oriental Style]
Charles Massin, Librairie Générale de l’Architecture et des arts Décoratifs, Paris: c. 1914
Pochoir prints
17.5 x 12.75 inches each
$3,750

Twenty boldly-colored pochoir prints of decorative compositions in the Art Nouveau style, loose as issued in a portfolio book by the French designer and author E.A. Seguy.   The designs primarily employ stylized floral motifs, though some feature birds and butterflies.  As suggested by the subtitle of each print, Composition dans le Goût Oriental, the images are in the "oriental taste," apparently derived from the study of Asian art.  The title of the portfolio, Samarkande, suggests Seguy was inspired in part by Central Asian textiles -- the city of Samarkand, in present day Uzbekistan, is known for its silks, carpets and weavings.  19th century “Orientalist” artists in France were inspired by the traditional art of Turkey, as well as by the sinuous forms depicted in Chinese and Japanese art, and Seguy's "oriental" designs seem to reflect these various influences filtered through Art Nouveau.

Eugene Alain Seguy produced eleven albums of illustrations and designs from the turn of the century to the 1930s, and his style reflected the influences of both Art Nouveau and Art Deco.  His various color portfolios of visual ideas for artists and designers often featured motifs based on the natural world, including flowers, foliage, crystals and animals. Although his compositions were design oriented, he made the depictions scientifically accurate. His later works showed an increased interest in geometric and cubist designs.  The prints in the portfolios were produced using the pochoir technique characterized by rich, intense color.  This printing process, utilized in the early 20th century for high quality prints, involved applying colors to each plate with a number of stencils.  Seguy’s works include Les Fleurs et Leurs Applications Decoratives (1900), Samarkande – 20 Compositions en Couleurs dans le Style Oriental (1914), Floreal (1920), Papillons (1924), Insectes (1924),  Primavera --Dessins et Coloris Nouveaux (1929), Suggestions (1930), and Prismes - 40 Planches de Dessins et Coloris Nouveaux (1931).

Collections of prints such as those produced by Seguy provided source material for designers of fabrics, wallpaper, ceramics, book illustrations, posters, and advertisements, and were popular in the late 19th and early 20th century.  The leading Victorian publication of this type was Owen Jones’s Grammar of Ornament, first issued in a folio edition in London in 1856. Other trendsetting styles in art, design, decoration and fashion in the second half of the 19th century, and early 20th century, came from Paris, Austria, and Germany, and many such print collections were published there, including designs by Emile Belet, Armand Guérinet, Ernst Haeckel, Arsène Herbinier, and Anton Seder.   To search our site for more Art Nouveau designs by such artists please type “Art Nouveau” into our search engine.

Charles Massin founded his publishing house in Paris in 1910 and specialized in collections of colorplates of architectural and decorative arts designs under the imprint Librairie Générale de l’Architecture et des Arts Décoratifs.  The firm continues today as Editions Massin.

Full publication information: Librairie Générale de l’Architecture et des arts Décoratifs, 51 Rue des Écoles

Condition: Prints loose as issued in portfolio covers.  Prints generally very good, the colors overall very bright.  Usual toning, handling, and slight brittleness of paper, marginal edge wear.  Paper tones consistent.  Floral cloth covers with printed paper label original, a bit soiled and worn with scattered stains, cloth spine and ties distressed or perished, should be replaced.

References:

Breidbach, Olaf, Irenäus Eibl-Eibesfeldt and Richard Hartmann.  Art Forms in Nature: The Prints of Ernst Haeckel.  New York: Prestel, 1998.

"Editions Massin." Editions Massin.  10 February 2006. http://www.massin.fr/Editions.ArianeREditions%20Massin.aspx (10 February 2006).