?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 7,000 - $ 10,000
EUGÈNE GRASSET (1841-1917) ABRICOTINE. Circa 1905. 42 1/2x57 3/4 inches, 108x146 3/4 cm. Devambez, Paris. Condition A-: minor creases, abrasions and restoration along vertical and horizontal folds; minor creases in image. Framed. "The Art Nouveau archetype of woman is best exemplified in the work of three artists, Eugène Grasset, Alphonse Mucha and Paul Berthon" (Grasset p. 7). Grasset studied in Zürich and traveled around Europe before settling in Paris, where he became a major influence on the development of Art Nouveau. He worked in all aspects of the decorative arts, pioneering new illustration printing processes, designing furniture, plates, stained glass, textiles, jewelry and creating a new typeface known as "Le Grasset." He was also the first French theorist of Art Nouveau, publishing several books on the subject including La Plante et ses Applications Ornementales and Methode de Composition Ornementale. Grasset's posters can roughly be divided into two types; one includes a Symbolist or allegorical image of a woman, often amidst flowers or vegetation, while the other reflects the Pre-Raphaelite tradition, drawing their inspiration from scenes and characters from the Middle Ages. Reminiscent of his 1894 calendar for Belle Jardinière, in which he depicts women in a natural environment wearing dresses decorated with zodiac symbols, here, he depicts a young woman in a flowing dress picking apricots, the fruit from which this liqueur is made. Grasset 27, DFP-II 420, Wine Spectator 30.
