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Louis Majorelle was a French art nouveau furniture designer. He lived in Nancy and had a large factory with over 100 workers. He was a bit of an economic hero, employing so many people and his work was sold throughout Europe.

Majorelle did production work and one-of-a-kind art furniture as well. Most of his designs used marquetry decoration as well as carving.

Here is a photo from around 1900 of the marquetry workshop. The men seated on the left are using a saw called the chevalet. This tool allowed the cutter to saw packets of veneer that would ultimately be assembled in jigsaw-like pictures. The chevalet was an efficient tool for getting multiples.

The man on the right is overseeing the workshop and presumably selecting the veneers for the individual pictures.

Art Nouveau
1. Louis Majorelle
2. Majorelle chair
3. Gallé box
4. Majorelle piano
5. Marquetry workshop of Louis Majorelle
6. Majorelle cabinet
7. Aube et Crépuscule (Dawn and Dusk)
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