Eugène Grasset

1845 Lausanne – 1917 Sceaux / Hauts-de-Seine

The painter, illustrator, sculptor and art theoretician, Eugène Grasset, exercised a decisive influence on the development of Art Nouveau in arts and crafts as well as in poster and print art. Following his architectural studies in Zurich under Gottfried Semper, he trained himself as a draughtsman – from 1871 in Paris – and turned his attention to Japanese art. Active initially as an interior decorator and illustrator, he achieved his first major successes with posters, some of which were commissioned by Sarah Bernhardt. At the same time he undertook extensive teaching work at several private and state schools and wrote works on the theory of art.