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Gustave Serrurier-Bovy
Gustave Serrurier-Bovy was a Belgian architect and designer (born in Liège 27 July 1858, died in Liège 19 November 1910). With Paul Hankar, Victor Horta and Henry van de Velde, he was one of the leading Belgian representatives of Art Nouveau.
Gustave Serrurier belonged through his father to a family traditionally engaged in construction. His grandfather was a mason, his father a building contractor. From 1871 to 1879, he was enrolled at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Liège where he studied drawing, archaeology and architecture. At the same time, from 1874 onwards, he contributed to his father's construction works. Having qualified as an architect, he built several houses in Liège. Still a student, he took a critical attitude towards the education he had received at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts. In contrast to this education, he subscribed to the theories of Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, considering that they laid the foundations of modern architecture. He advocated the search for forms specific to the 19th century and the use of all available materials and construction methods. After having qualified as an architect, he designed several houses in Liège.
During his studies, he became friends with Armand Rassenfosse, a future painter, draughtsman and engraver. In 1884, Gustave Serrurier married Maria Bovy who worked as a saleswoman in the artwork store of Rassenfosse's parents. The couple's only daughter was born in 1885. After her marriage, Maria Serrurier-Bovy founded her own shop, selling exotic objects imported from Asia, while Gustave Serrurier pursued his career as an architect. In 1887, he produced a project for the university hospital in Liège, which was finally not selected.
In 1888, Gustave Serrurier abandoned architecture and founded in Liège the firm Serrurier-Bovy. It offered complete interior designs as well as a wide variety of furniture and decorative objects. His aesthetic vision as an interior designer is summed up in one sentence in a booklet entitled Album d'Intérieurs: "To be beautiful, a set of furniture and decoration needs above all simplicity in the lines, harmony in the colours and consistency in the proportions".
From 1892 onwards, Gustave Serrurier designed his own furniture which was manufactured in his workshops in Liège.
His growing interest for decorative arts brought him close to the Arts and Crafts movement initiated by William Morris in England. This movement promoted to use art for the embellishment of utilitarian domestic objects. Gustave Serrurier was highly receptive to this revival of the applied arts, which concerned all aspects of interior design: furniture, wallpaper, tapestries, hangings and metalwork. In 1893, he went to the exhibition organized by the Arts and Crafts movement in London and was most impressed by the exhibits. He was to maintain close relationships with several of the artists of this movement, most notably with Arthur Mackmurdo, Charles-F. Annesley Voysey and Walter Crane. His suppliers will include the London store Liberty.
In 1894, at the invitation of Octave Maus, he presented a Cabinet de Travail at the Salon de La Libre Esthétique in Brussels. It was a complete ornamental ensemble: the furniture was displayed in a room whose walls were decorated with red poppies. This Cabinet de Travail was a great success and established Gustave Serrurier as a key contributor to the revival of home design.
In 1895, he exhibited a Chambre d'Artisan at the Salon de la Libre Esthétique. The term artisan implied that the furniture was intended for a modest home. The simplicity of the Chambre d’Artisan reflected Gustave Serrurier's wish for popularizing a sense of aesthetics. That same year, he founded a group called L'Oeuvre Artistique, which organised in Liège an international exhibition devoted mainly to applied arts. The organisation of this event conveyed his very global approach to art. Lectures on designers and contemporary subjects, as well as concerts and a play by Henrik Ibsen, broadened the scope of the exhibition. The Glasgow Four (Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Margaret MacDonald Mackintosh, James Herbert MacNair, Frances MacDonald) made their first joint presentation there. For Hector Guimard, it was an opportunity to travel to Belgium and discover the work of Victor Horta, which was to have a major influence on his future projects.
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Gustave Serrurier-Bovy
Gustave Serrurier-Bovy was a Belgian architect and designer (born in Liège 27 July 1858, died in Liège 19 November 1910). With Paul Hankar, Victor Horta and Henry van de Velde, he was one of the leading Belgian representatives of Art Nouveau.
Gustave Serrurier belonged through his father to a family traditionally engaged in construction. His grandfather was a mason, his father a building contractor. From 1871 to 1879, he was enrolled at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Liège where he studied drawing, archaeology and architecture. At the same time, from 1874 onwards, he contributed to his father's construction works. Having qualified as an architect, he built several houses in Liège. Still a student, he took a critical attitude towards the education he had received at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts. In contrast to this education, he subscribed to the theories of Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, considering that they laid the foundations of modern architecture. He advocated the search for forms specific to the 19th century and the use of all available materials and construction methods. After having qualified as an architect, he designed several houses in Liège.
During his studies, he became friends with Armand Rassenfosse, a future painter, draughtsman and engraver. In 1884, Gustave Serrurier married Maria Bovy who worked as a saleswoman in the artwork store of Rassenfosse's parents. The couple's only daughter was born in 1885. After her marriage, Maria Serrurier-Bovy founded her own shop, selling exotic objects imported from Asia, while Gustave Serrurier pursued his career as an architect. In 1887, he produced a project for the university hospital in Liège, which was finally not selected.
In 1888, Gustave Serrurier abandoned architecture and founded in Liège the firm Serrurier-Bovy. It offered complete interior designs as well as a wide variety of furniture and decorative objects. His aesthetic vision as an interior designer is summed up in one sentence in a booklet entitled Album d'Intérieurs: "To be beautiful, a set of furniture and decoration needs above all simplicity in the lines, harmony in the colours and consistency in the proportions".
From 1892 onwards, Gustave Serrurier designed his own furniture which was manufactured in his workshops in Liège.
His growing interest for decorative arts brought him close to the Arts and Crafts movement initiated by William Morris in England. This movement promoted to use art for the embellishment of utilitarian domestic objects. Gustave Serrurier was highly receptive to this revival of the applied arts, which concerned all aspects of interior design: furniture, wallpaper, tapestries, hangings and metalwork. In 1893, he went to the exhibition organized by the Arts and Crafts movement in London and was most impressed by the exhibits. He was to maintain close relationships with several of the artists of this movement, most notably with Arthur Mackmurdo, Charles-F. Annesley Voysey and Walter Crane. His suppliers will include the London store Liberty.
In 1894, at the invitation of Octave Maus, he presented a Cabinet de Travail at the Salon de La Libre Esthétique in Brussels. It was a complete ornamental ensemble: the furniture was displayed in a room whose walls were decorated with red poppies. This Cabinet de Travail was a great success and established Gustave Serrurier as a key contributor to the revival of home design.
In 1895, he exhibited a Chambre d'Artisan at the Salon de la Libre Esthétique. The term artisan implied that the furniture was intended for a modest home. The simplicity of the Chambre d’Artisan reflected Gustave Serrurier's wish for popularizing a sense of aesthetics. That same year, he founded a group called L'Oeuvre Artistique, which organised in Liège an international exhibition devoted mainly to applied arts. The organisation of this event conveyed his very global approach to art. Lectures on designers and contemporary subjects, as well as concerts and a play by Henrik Ibsen, broadened the scope of the exhibition. The Glasgow Four (Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Margaret MacDonald Mackintosh, James Herbert MacNair, Frances MacDonald) made their first joint presentation there. For Hector Guimard, it was an opportunity to travel to Belgium and discover the work of Victor Horta, which was to have a major influence on his future projects.
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