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Eugène Samuel Grasset (1845-1917) was a Swiss artist working during the Belle Époque, a so-called “Golden Age” between 1871 and the outbreak of World War I in 1914. This time period was characterized by economic prosperity, colonial expansion, optimism, and peace, and it was a time when the arts in Europe flourished. Grasset has been noted as one of the forefathers of the Art Nouveau movement with his decorative art style that was particularly influenced by Egyptian and Japanese artistic themes and aesthetics.

He began his artistic education as a child when his father taught him how to use cabinet-making tools, and he learned to draw under Francois-Louis David Bolton (1828-1890). He went on to study architecture in Zürich, Switzerland, in 1861. Grasset then travelled to Egypt, embarking on a trip that would become one of the most influential to his later poster designs.

Although he started out as a painter and sculptor in his hometown of Lausanne, Switzerland, from 1869-1870, Grasset focused much of his later career on graphic design. In 1871, he left for Paris where he devoted the next few years to designing wallpapers, fabrics, furniture, and tapestries, among other commercial objects. It was in 1877 when he turned his attention to graphic design, producing postcards and other forms of artworks that could easily be sold in order to generate an income. Poster art quickly became his most sought-after and notable work, and he went on to design many popular prints. His popularity extended to the United States as the desire for French prints in the U.S. grew. He eventually obtained numerous commissions in the 1880s and 1890s, and these commissions helped create a market for the Art Nouveau movement in North America.

From 1890-1913, Grasset taught design at various schools in France, including the École Estienne in Paris and the Académie de la Grande Chaumière. He also adapted Nicolas Jenson’s alphabet into his own style, which was then made into a typeset for printing that was introduced as the “Grasset” typeset at the Universal Exhibition of 1900 by the G. Peignot et Fils type foundry.