I first saw this cabinet as a black and white image in a marquetry book when I first started woodworking. I immediately gravitated to it. I loved Art Nouveau carving with the swirling lines. And here was a piece that also used marquetry.
What struck me was that the marquetry was the focal point of the piece. Majorelle put the picture up close to eye level where the viewer could grasp the detail in the picture. This was something that I attempted to think about as I began to design my own pieces using marquetry decoration.
Majorelle was a master of furniture design. He and Emile Gallé were both working in Nancy, France at the turn of the century and made it a hub of nouveau design. To this day I get a kick out of seeing Majorelle pieces in museums. They are always worth a look.