Les éléments de l’art arabe pl 195

Jules Bourgoin prints are hypnotic geometric patterns: stars, polygons and interlacing bands drawn from the mosques, fountains and ceilings of Cairo and Damascus. Bourgoin was a French architect and ornament theorist who spent years recording Islamic art and searching for the rules behind it. Our collection of fine art prints includes all 200 plates of his Les Éléments de l'art arabe: le trait des entrelacs (1879).

About Jules Bourgoin

Jules Bourgoin was born in Joigny, in the Yonne, on 12 December 1838, and trained at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. In 1863 he was sent to Alexandria to oversee work on the French consulate, and he stayed in Egypt until 1866, filling his sketchbooks with the material for Les Arts arabes (1868–1873).

He returned to the East to work in Damascus (1874–1875) and Cairo (1880–1884), where he helped set up the French Archaeological Mission led by Gaston Maspero and joined the committee for the conservation of Arab monuments. He drew both ancient Egyptian and medieval Islamic buildings.

Back in France he taught ornament at the École des Beaux-Arts and in the textile centres of Roubaix and Lyon. He published a Theory of Ornament (1873), Les Éléments de l'art arabe (1879) and later works seeking a "science of figures". He built almost nothing except his own house at Saint-Julien-du-Sault, where he died on 4 February 1908.

Style and Subjects

Les Éléments de l'art arabe is devoted to the trait des entrelacs, the drawing of interlace. Each plate shows a geometric pattern built from stars and polygons, with bands that weave over and under one another across the page.

The plates are crisp line drawings, often in black on white, that reveal the hidden grids behind Islamic ornament. They are at once scientific diagrams and beautiful abstract designs, and they look surprisingly modern.

Famous Works

• Les Éléments de l'art arabe, Plate 1 (1879). The opening plate of his study of Islamic interlace.
• Les Éléments de l'art arabe, Plate 50 (1879). A star pattern built on a hidden geometric grid.
• Les Éléments de l'art arabe, Plate 100 (1879). An interlace design from the heart of the book.
• Les Éléments de l'art arabe, Plate 150 (1879). One of the more complex patterns in the series.
• Les Éléments de l'art arabe, Plate 200 (1879). The last plate of the book.
• Les Arts arabes (1868–1873). His survey of Arab architecture, woodwork, bronzes, ceilings and stained glass.

Decorating with Bourgoin Prints

Bourgoin's geometric patterns are perfect for modern and minimalist interiors. Hang a large grid of plates in a living room, hallway or office for a striking, graphic wall, or a single plate over a desk.

They pair beautifully with Moroccan or Middle Eastern textiles, brass, tiles and plants, and they suit a bathroom or kitchen with patterned tiles. Thin black or brass frames with a white mat keep the look clean.

FAQ

Who was Jules Bourgoin?

Jules Bourgoin (1838–1908) was a French architect, draughtsman and theorist of ornament who studied Islamic art in Egypt and Syria.

What is Les Éléments de l'art arabe?

Bourgoin's 1879 book of 200 plates on the drawing of interlace (le trait des entrelacs), the geometric star-and-polygon patterns of Islamic art.

Where did Bourgoin draw his patterns?

In Egypt and Syria. He lived in Egypt from 1863 to 1866 and worked in Damascus in 1874–1875 and Cairo in 1880–1884.

Where are Bourgoin's papers today?

His archives were acquired by the couturier Jacques Doucet around 1909–1910 and are kept at the library of the Institut national d'histoire de l'art in Paris.

Did Bourgoin teach?

Yes. He taught ornament at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris and in the textile centres of Roubaix and Lyon.

Related Artists

• Owen Jones: author of The Grammar of Ornament, with its studies of the Alhambra
• Émile Prisse d'Avennes: French recorder of Arab art in Cairo
• Auguste Racinet: French author of a great survey of ornament
• George Ashdown Audsley: Victorian author of books on ornament