Eugène Grasset Cross Stitch Kits & Patterns (2)
Eugène Grasset (1845–1917) was the Swiss-born designer, illustrator, and decorative artist who helped invent the visual language of Art Nouveau before Mucha got most of the credit for it — which Grasset accepted with the philosophical equanimity of a man who knew exactly what he had contributed and didn't need a poster campaign to prove it. Born in Lausanne and trained as an architect, he arrived in Paris in 1871 and threw himself into the rich, cross-disciplinary creative world of the late 19th century with an energy and versatility that was genuinely remarkable even by the standards of an era that produced a lot of remarkable people.
Grasset designed typefaces, stained glass windows, furniture, tapestries, jewellery, and ceramics with equal fluency — he was, in the truest sense, a total designer, someone for whom the boundary between fine art and applied art was an artificial distinction to be cheerfully ignored. His poster designs, particularly his celebrated series for the Harper's Bazar magazine and his iconic La Vitrioleuse, brought his flat, sinuous, nature-inspired style to a mass audience and established him as one of the defining visual voices of the Art Nouveau movement. His 1896 book La Plante et ses Applications Ornementales — a study of plant forms and their decorative applications — became one of the most influential design manuals of its era and is still referenced by designers today.
He was also, by all accounts, a wonderful teacher — his classes at the École Guérin in Paris attracted students from across Europe and America, and his influence on the next generation of decorative artists was profound and lasting. In counted cross stitch, Grasset's bold outlines, rich jewel-toned palette, and sinuous Art Nouveau decorative style translate into designs of extraordinary visual beauty and decorative richness. Browse our Eugène Grasset cross stitch kit collection and choose a premium Grasset cross stitch kit or download a Eugène Grasset cross stitch pattern instantly.
