Marcel Corrette (1896-1946), Study Of A Rose Bush, Pencil, Gouache And Watercolor, Art Nouveau

Marcel CORRETTE
Fenneviller 1896 - Nancy 1946
Study of Rosier
Pencil Watercolor and gouache on paper
Around 1915
50 x 65cm

Painter of animated landscapes, designer and decorator, Marcel Corrette was a student of Jules Larcher (1849-1920) at the Nancy School of Fine Arts. He exhibited in Paris at the Salon of French Artists of which he became a member in 1936 and continued his career as a furniture and art object designer at Majorelle during the golden age of the Nancy School. Subsequently, he was appointed professor of drawing at the city's school of fine and applied arts. He worked in particular for Eugène Corbin, the great Nancy patron. Marcel Corrette also collaborated with Amalric Walter who created numerous glass paste objects based on his drawings.
The herbariums available to artists are a real source of inspiration for Art Nouveau which was booming at the end of the 19th century. The Nancy School is one of the most important European centers. If nature was an infinite source of inspiration for the artists of this school, it is not the result of chance. This can be explained by the undeniable horticultural reputation of Nancy. Indeed, in 1877 the Société Centrale d'Horticulture de Nancy was created, the general secretariat of which was provided by Émile Gallé, both an artist and botanist. Through numerous works and exhibitions, the Nancy Horticultural Society contributes greatly to spreading the interest in plants for artists. The study of plants from nature is therefore fundamental to explaining the success of this movement in Nancy. Our series of drawings by Marcel Corrette gives a representation of plants which oscillates between a naturalist vision and an Art Nouveau stylization. To achieve this decorative stylization – which will be used in particular to create ornaments used by the Nancy decorative art workshops with which he collaborates (glass paste, vase, jewelry, furniture) – the artist represents the plants from different angles to better isolate certain aspects such as rhythm, color and certain geometric structures in order to extract a decorative motif. The rarity and high quality of these drawings allowed us to sell part of this set to the Musée de l'École de Nancy.