Lot Essay
cf. Maurice Rheims, Hector Guimard, 1985, p. 48 for a period drawing of a similar settee, which is now in the Muse d'Orsay, from the album, L'Art dans l'Habitation Moderne: Le Castel Branger, published by Hector Guimard in 1898, and Muse d'Orsay, Guimard, 1992, p. 160, fig. 31 for this similar settee.
Guimard was not interested in publishing or discussing his work; therefore, the Castel Branger album, with its hand-colored plates, presents a rare opportunity to examine his architectural, decorative, and functional designs for the building. Those elements are representative of Guimard's work in his 'first manner', a highly elaborate and exaggerated style, marked by a certain frenetic quality.
Guimard was not interested in publishing or discussing his work; therefore, the Castel Branger album, with its hand-colored plates, presents a rare opportunity to examine his architectural, decorative, and functional designs for the building. Those elements are representative of Guimard's work in his 'first manner', a highly elaborate and exaggerated style, marked by a certain frenetic quality.