Alongside architects and designers Victor Horta, Paul Hankar and Henry van de Vede, Gustave Serrurier-Bovy is considered one of the most important and innovative representatives of Art Nouveau in Belgium. Born in 1858 to a father who was a building contractor and descended from a long line of masons from the Herve region, Serrurier-Bovy was enrolled at the Académie des Beaux Arts in Liège at the age of thirteen. During his training, he was attracted by the ideas and artistic principles of William Morris and his Arts and Crafts movement, which brought him closer to English furniture production. His career in Belgium began in 1888 as a commercial upholsterer-decorator with Serrurier-Bovy, the company he founded with his wife Maria Bovy. From 1892 onwards, he began to make and sell his own furniture.

 

During the heyday of Art Nouveau, his floral lines became sober, almost geometric. Serrurier Bovy's skillful execution gave life to a type of design with no time indications, works modernised by a refined style and marked simplicity in their execution. The success of his work was confirmed by his association with the Frenchman René Dulong, with whom he opened the Parisian boutique L'Art dans l'habitation in 1899, thus establishing himself internationally. The partnership with Dulong continued in 1903 with the founding of the furniture and decorative objects company Serrurier & Cie. By this stage, Serrurier-Bovy's style was moving further and further away from English influence, while remaining sober, uncluttered and simple, exploring superimpositions, framing and the interplay of full and empty.

 

In the last years of his life, Gustave Serrurier-Bovy moved towards democratic production, art accessible to all, with moderate and affordable prices, everyday objects made in a spirit of design.