Fireplace Surround
Maker
Gustave Serrurier-Bovy
(Belgian, 1858-1910)
Datecirca 1902 - 1905
MediumBrass, copper, wrought iron, mahogany, mirror and glazed porcelain tiles (Boch Frères, La Louvière, Belgium)
Dimensions98 1/16 x 56 in. (249 x 142.2 cm)
Credit LineGift of Seymour Stein
Object number1984.20a-f
Status
Not on viewGustave Serrurier-Bovy was one of Belgium’s leading Art
Nouveau designers. After his studies in Liège, attracted by the art works and
writing of British craftsman William Morris, he moved to London, where he
worked as a designer of interior furnishing in the Modern Style. In 1884, he opened
his own interior decoration and furniture shop in Liège.
Until about 1901 his designs were based in the asymmetrical
and curvilinear forms of the European Art Nouveau style of the time. This
fireplace surround, with its simple horizontal lines, suggests a return of his
interests in the British Arts and Crafts movement. The plain tiles and clock
face act as the only decoration, stripping back to a “wholesome” vernacular
design.
Smart Publications:
The David and Alfred Smart Museum of Art
n.d.
