Retour (L'Estampe Moderne I)

Georges de Feure, pseudonym of Georges Joseph Van Sluijters 1868-1943 French Art Noveau designer and painter was of son of a Dutch architect and a Belgian mother. He started out as an actor, costumier and then interior decorator in Paris. In 1894, at the Galerie des Artistes Modernes he exhibited watercolours and paintings in a Symbolist style, depicting women in a manner reminiscent of Aubrey Beardsley’s work. Capturing the essence of the feminine spirit became his trademark. With Eugene Gaillard and Edouard Colonna he was selected by Siegfried Bing, founder of the Galeries de l’Art Nouveau, to design rooms for the Pavilion Bing at the Exposition Universelle, Paris (1900). De Feure’s carpets, glassware and furniture designs for the boudoir and toilette were based on the theme of woman, emphasizing delicate lines and elegant sensuality. He later left Bing’s gallery and, as an independent designer, created vide-poche furniture, which contained hidden marquetry compartments. This furniture suggested secrecy and coquetry, themes that de Feure pursued throughout his career. In 1886, de Feure was one of the eleven students admitted to the Rijkscademie voor Beeldende Kunsten in Amsterdam, which he left quickly for Paris; he felt that formal academic training had nothing to offer him. Being of very independent nature, de Feure never again took up formal artistic studies, and forged his own independent path. He was, however, influenced by Jules Chéret's posters for the café concert. He designed furniture, worked for newspapers, created theater designs and posters for Le Chat Noir cabaret. In August 1901, de Feure was nominated as a Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur for his contribution to the decorative arts. He died in poverty at the age of 75 in Paris.