“My roots are in the depths of the woods” claimed Émile Gallé, a knowledgeable botanist. Following the example of Japanese arts that suggest nature without copying it, artists at the turn of the century sought to transcribe natural and organic lines into different materials, the momentum of life that animates vegetation.
Scientific progress, especially in biology, revealed new facets of living and led to the publication of ornamental grammars such as La Plante et ses Applications Ornementales by Eugène Grasset in 1896. An extension of nature, the female figure, whose voluptuous dresses and long hair curl in waves, was prominent in the Art Nouveau style.