Atelier Martine
{image: Twentieth-Century Pattern Design}
These beautiful floral designs are the works of the teenage girls who staffed Atelier Martine, a decor workshop founded in Paris in 1911 by Paul Poiret.
Inspired by the textiles developed by the Wiener Werkstätte, Poiret decided to hire artistically untrained girls with little means in order to produce designs that were informal and naive. The girls were sent out to study foliage and vegetation, taking trips to the countryside, markets, and botanical gardens. Poiret’s idea was to nurture the artists’ natural creativity rather than provide formal artistic training. Their incredible designs are reminiscent of folk art, bright and vivid and utterly striking.
Designs from Atelier Martine were translated into textiles and wallpapers, becoming hugely influential in the world of decorative arts for decades to come. All from the minds and hands of such young women.
{image: gouache on paper, 1912, les arts decoratifs}
{image: textile, 1925, the textile blog}
{images: printed japanese silk, 1913, MoMa; bluette, 1912, the textile blog; Les Pavots, 1912, the textile blog}
{images: linen fragment, 1920s, The Art Institute of Chicago; anemones}
{image: printed linen, 1923, The Met}
{other resources: Twentieth-Century Pattern Design, Art Deco Textiles}
Just lovely, so vibrant.
So lovely. I like an informal floral. I wish these would be reissued. I can see some lovely summer frocks and blouses in the designs.
these are so pretty! love the vines one.
beautifully crafted! just looking at he art work makes me feel relieved. how much more if it is your wall paper in your bedroom?
I’ve been to the MAK museum in Vienna that houses objects produced by the Weiner Werkstatte. And Paul Poiret inspires me. But I had never heard of Atelier Martine. Thank you so much for this post. I love these designs! You might enjoy the Sonia Delauney exhibit currently on view at the Cooper-Hewitt in NYC. Her textiles were more graphic and geometric, but are also fascinating.
I just added your blog post to my Facebook and Twitter feeds. These designs inspire me today. Thanks again!
Artistic designs. Maybe you could post an article about making these designs.
These are amazing. Thanks so much for the images and textile history lesson.
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Gorgeous prints! Very, very good finds.
Wow, what a great find! Very inspiring. As an art teacher I find my students art work is quite amazing compared to trained artists, so uninhibited. Thanks for the fantastic post!