麻豆传媒映画

At the corner of the former rue du Vieil A卯tre, around 2km south-west of the oldest areas of Nancy (Meurthe-et-Moselle), lies the villa whose name was later given to the street on which it lays.

Villa Majorelle, named after local furniture designer Louis Majorelle, is a radical departure from the other suburban houses on the street, which were built in the early 1950s with modern architectural techniques, straight lines and cheaper materials.

Standing four storeys high (cellar included) and covering 3,500m², this floral-inspired property is the result of a partnership between 13 different trades, creating an oeuvre d鈥檃rt totale that was listed as a Monument historique in 1927.

'A harmonious approach to the living environment'

It is the most prominent work of Ecole de Nancy, a group of Art Nouveau craftsmen whose architectural, design and craft projects are a valuable part of Nancy鈥檚 heritage.

The villa is one of 11 Art Nouveau buildings of the city, and the westernmost stop on a sightseeing walking tour offered by Nancy鈥檚 municipality.

It has been owned by the city since 2003 and is an annexe of the Mus茅e Ecole de Nancy, a museum which examines the impact Nancy had on the Art Nouveau movement. 

It was renovated in 2019 and reopened in February 2020.

鈥淭he villa reflects the Art Nouveau movement鈥檚 contemporary and harmonious approach to the living environment, which was completely new,鈥� said Val茅rie Thomas, conservation director of the museum since 1996.

It was the brainchild of Louis Majorelle, a respected cabinet maker and designer, who was inspired by naturalist painters and worked at his mother鈥檚 atelier in Nancy.

Read more: French architecture: Marseille's 24-year wait for mosque

In 1898, he commissioned Parisian architect Henri Sauvage to build the villa, which he intended to use as his craftshop.

Mr Sauvage drew the plans while Lucien Weissenburger, another architect and one of Majorelle鈥檚 friends, built it from 1901 to 1902. 

Majorelle nicknamed it Jika, borrowing the first letters of his wife鈥檚 initials 鈥� Jeanne Kretz.

Every aspect of the property, both inside and out, was inspired by Art Nouveau, the then-dominant architectural and artistic style.

It is made up of three distinctly separate spaces, including a large outdoor terrace leading to a workshop.

Sauvage broke many conventional rules of architecture, including the strict adherence to symmetry that had prevailed with the Beaux-Arts movement from the 1830s to the early 19th century. The gable roofs have different pitches, for example, while materials used for the facade take in beige Euville limestone, sandstone and bricks.

The villa鈥檚 best profile is its north face, showing the main entrance and stained-glass windows to the left, the glazed oval arch behind the terrace and, above that, the second-floor balcony and glass wall.

The asymmetry makes more sense inside, where each room was individually designed and crafted by artists of various trades.

Jacques Gruber was responsible for the windows, ceramicist Alexandre Bigot designed the ground floor dining room鈥檚 monumental fireplace as well as other decorative tiling, Majorelle himself oversaw furniture design, while Frantz Jourdain painted a mural in the stairway.

The overall effect plays with contrasts of colours, shapes, form, height, materials and inspiration.鈥‵rom the wrought-iron front door to the sweeping wooden-balustraded stairway, the intimacy of the bedrooms to the natural light-filled ground-floor workshop, the bright white walls to the warm brown carpentry, Villa Majorelle is a 鈥渇antasy both delightful and spiritual鈥�, Jourdain wrote in a 1902 article in Art et D茅coration 尘补驳补锄颈苍别.鈥�

Floral imagery

Another distinctive Art Nouveau feature in the property is the abundance of floral imagery and other designs inspired by nature.

Honesty is the most represented flower, depicted on everything from windows, to friezes, to the ornate ironwork of the front entrance.

The living room was decorated with pine cone imagery, while ears of wheat dominate in the dining room and ivy on door handles and the balcony supports. Even the guttering boasts a cast iron leaf motif.

Majorelle took up residence in 1902 and lived in the villa with his wife until her death in 1912. He then gradually deserted the house, which was partially destroyed following bombing in 1916.

It was eventually sold in 1931 and occupied by civil servants of the former Ponts et Chauss茅es ministry.

The Villa Majorelle's lost history

Very little else is known of the villa鈥檚 history, largely due to a near complete absence of historic or architectural records. One exception is a family photo album, bought by the museum in 2003.

It took a year of study by architect Camille Andr茅, who was commissioned for the villa鈥檚 recent 鈧�1.8million restoration, and the Service regional de l鈥橧nventaire of the Grand-Est region, to work out how to faithfully restore the property.

鈥淭he renovation was about paying tribute to all the work Mr Majorelle did in the house,鈥� said Ms Andr茅.

鈥淭ime had created so many contrasting colours with the white of the wall and the dark brown of the wood. We had to bring some harmony back,鈥� added Ms Thomas.

鈥淎fter we had cleaned the paintings on the ceiling, they glowed with unexpected clarity. I never expected that,鈥� she added. 鈥淭he villa became increasingly luminous.鈥�

Among the 11 buildings listed as part of Nancy鈥檚 surviving Art Nouveau heritage, choosing the most significant is a source of endless debate.

The Cr茅dit Lyonnais bank (1901), the G茅nin-Louis building (1901), the France-Lanord building (1902-04), the h么tel particulier Bergeret (1903-05) and several others on rue F茅lix Faure, the pharmacy Jacques (1903), the Maison Biet (1907) and the Brasserie Excelsior (1910) all vie for attention and admiration.

For Ms Thomas, however, there is no competition.

鈥淭he villa is the most emblematic building in Nancy, and the one which has had the greatest influence and impact on Art Nouveau.鈥�

鈥淚t is a jewel,鈥� agreed Ms Andr茅. 鈥淚t is certainly one of the best projects I have worked on.鈥�

The Mus茅e de I鈥橢cole de Nancy offers virtual tours on its , taking visitors room to room.