Muguet 1896

Maurice Pillard Verneuil made this print of Lily of the Valley - or Muguet - using stencils to apply its flat blocks of colour. Verneuil was involved in the Art Nouveau movement in France, a style that rejected industrial design. Instead, Art Nouveau artists drew inspiration from the natural world. But this wasn’t a simple celebration of nature: it was also part of a wider cultural and political project. Art Nouveau artists believed that by bringing beautiful, handcrafted objects into people's homes, they could improve society. This print, with its stylized yet accurate depiction of the Muguet flower, exemplifies that mission. It was intended as a design for wallpaper, textiles, and other decorative arts. To understand Verneuil's work fully, we need to look at the history of design and the Arts and Crafts movement. We can then see how artists tried to change the world through beauty and accessible design.