Le Style sapin: Une expérience de l'art nouveau

Situated at around 3,300 ft above sea level in the mountains of the Swiss Jura region, the town of La Chaux-de-Fonds experienced significant economic development towards the end of the 19th century, which went hand in hand with much building activity. There are few other places in Switzerland in which the influence of art nouveau is so clearly visible. Significantly inspired by the painter and architect Charles L'Eplattenier (1874-1946), and his art and decoration course at the local school of applied arts in 1905, a local variant of art nouveau developed, the so-called Style sapin or "fir style." Protagonists of this movement accorded special importance in their works to the use of symbolic motifs that reflect the nature of the Jura landscape and especially its fir forests. This book offers a comprehensive survey of the Style sapin and builds bridges into the 21st century. It places the "fir style" within the international context of art nouveau and also addresses in detail the local facets of this movement, which has left traces that are still visible today in watchmaking, applied arts, and architecture. Moreover, it draws attention for the first time to the previously scarcely acknowledged female artists of the Style sapin. Text in French. AUTHORS: Marie Gaitzsch is an art historian and an assistant curator at the Musée des beaux-arts in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. Prior to this she worked as a research assistant at the Musée d'art et d'histoire in Geneva and at the Art Centre Basel. David Lemaire has been director and curator at the Musée des beaux-arts in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland., since 2018. Prior to this he worked as an assistant curator at the Musée d'art moderne et contemporain in Geneva and as a lecturer at the University of Geneva. SELLING POINTS: . Revised and expanded new edition of the only book published to date on the Style sapin or "fir style," the characteristic variant of the Jugendstil from the Swiss Jura region . A reference work for art lovers, collectors, historians, and art historians interested in art nouveau . Offers a long overdue tribute to Jeanne Perrochet, Henriette Grandjean, and Sophie L'Eplattenier, the female protagonists of the Style sapin 107 colour, 48 b/w illustrations

About the Author :
Marie Gaitzsch is an art historian and an assistant curator at the Musée des beaux-arts in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. Prior to this she worked as a research assistant at the Musée d’art et d’histoire in Geneva and at the Art Centre Basel. David Lemaire has been director and curator at the Musée des beaux-arts in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland., since 2018. Prior to this he worked as an assistant curator at the Musée d’art moderne et contemporain in Geneva and as a lecturer at the University of Geneva.