Leon Jallot Sculpted Walnut Desk and Chair

In 1901 Jallot became one of the founding members of the first Salon of Societe des Artistes Decorateurs in Paris – an organization which produced highly anticipated annual exhibitions through the first half of the 20th Century. In 1903 he established his own decorating workshop where he designed and fabricated furniture, fabrics, carpets, tapestries, glassware, lacqueer and screens.

Jallot was the first of the Art Nouveau designers to turn away from floral ornamentation and to pursue linearism – as early as 1904 his decoration was limited to the natural grain of the wood – and he was an advocate of rich materials rather than over-wrought forms to suggest luxury.

Jallot’s work was shown at the Salons of Societe Nationale des Beaux-Arts from 1908, Salon d’Automne from 1919, and at the SAD throughout. A review of his exhibit at the 1921 Salon des Artistes Decorateurs, in Art et Decoration, said:

“His furniture has the easy elegance of ideas created in a flash and then mulled over – ingenuity, savoir-faire, and patience are all combined in his work.”