Madame Guimard’s Bedroom (detail)

An exceptional example of the Art Nouveau style, this bedroom was designed by Hector Guimard, one of the most famous representatives of this early 20th century artistic movement.

In 1909, Monsieur Guimard and his wife moved into the private house he had designed in Avenue Mozart, Paris. In the three-story building, the artist implemented his program of “total design” allying architecture with interior decor: furniture, tiling, carpets, stained-glass, wallpapers, curtain materials, and table linen. This furniture is made of pear wood, veneered with flecked maple for the bed and the dressing-table. On the wall, the nude in a Guimard frame is the work of his American wife—the famous painter Adeline Oppenheim. The chandelier, and the glass and bronze appliqué work, were originally in the drawing-room.

These furnishings, along with those in the dining room, were exhibited at the City of Paris Museum of Fine Arts (the Petit Palais) and are the only remnant of Guimard’s remarkable search for stylistic unity, in which refined materials are combined with the suppleness of forms inspired by the plant world.