Perce-neige 3 1896

Maurice Pillard Verneuil created this pochoir print titled ‘Perce-neige 3’. At the turn of the 20th century, Verneuil was a professor at l'École d'Arts Appliqués, one of the many institutions in France where artists were developing a new visual language. It's now recognized as Art Nouveau. This print testifies to the movement's dedication to the decorative arts. These were often considered subordinate to ‘high art’ such as painting or sculpture. The Art Nouveau style here appropriates natural forms, especially flowers, into abstract repeating patterns. The prints were made using a stencil technique, a relatively inexpensive process. This meant that works like this were made available to a wider audience. To understand this image better, we can investigate the history of design education in France. It would be useful to know how prints such as these were distributed and used. Examining the work of Verneuil and his contemporaries can show us how artists at the time challenged the established hierarchies of artistic media.