This reproduction of "Plants and Their Application to Ornament", first published in 1897, presents each of twenty-four different flowering plants in three arts-and-crafts-style colour plates. A realistic botanical illustration is followed by two stylized plates detailing the plant motif's application to various decorative patterns and household objects. Published in association with the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, "Plants and Their Application to Ornament" is a rich visual treat as well as a record of a historical design moment with ongoing significance to artists and designers today. "Plants and Their Application to Ornament" is a lavish volume that includes both classic natural history-style botanical illustrations, and more abstract William Morris-type patterns for textiles and other applications.

About the Author

Eugene Grasset was born in Switzerland in 1841. He moved to Paris at the age of thirty and became a graphic designer and teacher - an important exponent of contemporary arts and crafts ideals. His distinctive style appeared on posters, book illustration, ceramics, stained glass, tapestries, and the furnishings for the celebrated Chat Noir cabaret. His innovative work and the graphic textbooks he authored were an important inspiration for the art nouveau movement at the end of the nineteenth century. He died in 1917.

Reviews

Irises, chestnut trees, and even lowly dandelions morph into stylized Art Nouveau motifs in this reproduction of Plants and Their Application to Ornament. Originally published in 1897, the book's illustrations were made by students of Eug ne Grasset, a Swiss-born professor of decorative arts. Enjoy the book whole, or frame some of its oversize, full-color plates. O at Home Magazine, March 2008

In Plants and Their Application to Ornament, Eug ne Grasset beautifully arranges an array of lavish and lovely botanical illustrations from the classic 1897 design book. Vanity Fair, February 2008