Villa Majorelle
His son Louis also planned an artistic career, and entered the course of painting at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 1877, when he was only eighteen.
To design his house, Louis chose a young architect recommended by his friends from the Ecole des Beaux Arts; Henri Sauvage, who was only twenty-four.
Majorelle also maintained close relations with artists he had known at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, including the sculptor Alexandre Charpentier (1856-1909) and the painter Francis Jourdain (1876-1958), who collaborated with him on furniture and participated in the decoration of the villa.
The writer assured the public that the house offered fantasy that was always logical, a sense of comfort, and well-reasoned simplicity.
The interior terrace proved unsuitable in cold weather, and Majorelle had the curved entry replaced by a new room with windows.
The beginning of the First World War in August 1914 marked the end of the era of the Art Nouveau, and greatly reduced the business of Majorelle.
The furniture factory caught fire and burned in 1916, and in the same year the house and his shop in Nancy were badly damaged by a German aerial bombardment.
After his death, his family could no longer afford to live in the Villa Majorelle, and the house and much of the outlying property were sold off in parcels.
Majorelle's son, a painter, was in poor health, and decided to move to Marrakesh in Morocco, and took much of the furniture of the house with him.
The house was sold to the Department of Highways and Bridges of the French government, and was used as offices, while the interior was considerably modified.
The north, and principal facade of the house, was composed of three distinct blocks of different sizes, whose decoration clearly expressed their function.
The block to the right, on the western side of the house, was crowned by the studio of Majorelle, with large windows overlooking what was then the garden.
The salon originally opened through a curved archway onto the terrace, which had a ceramic balustrade and ceramic plaques by the ceramist Alexandre Bigot, whose work also decorated the best-known art nouveau houses in Paris, the Castel Béranger designed by Hector Guimard and the Lavirotte Building by Jules Lavirotte.of different sizes which clearly expressed their function.
In the center of the facade, at a lower height than the right block but standing ahead of it, is the portion of the building housing the staircase, expressed by its large windows.
[3] The outside of the villa featured an abundance of decoration in ceramic, metal and wood, each work unique but harmonious with the style of the building.
The vestibule, inside the front door, has preserved many original decorative elements, including a colorful mosaic floor, a glass and wrought iron grill with a floral design behind the front door; and carved wood panelling and stained glass framing the entrance to the main corridor, which originally also had a floral design tapestry curtain.
A large mirror and umbrella rack, placed against the wall facing the doorway, matched the floral pattern of the other decoration and reflected the light coming through the glass and iron front grill.
