auriol

many people know the name auriol from the font, a font that perhaps typifies art nouveau in the minds of many, that even more typifies japonisme, in it's clear debt to brush calligraphy. but behind the font is the man, the designer of the font, and of much of the japonisme legacy with us today.

when auriol arrived in paris, he was quickly enthralled by the japanese influences everywhere, and set off to study with riviere, who had begun to teach printmaking in the japanese style.

some of auriol's designs were nearly strict reproductions of japanese designs, but others flowered forth from his own creative spirit into his typography, book design, and illustration.

(bottom left from utamaro's series of birds in a song competition with each other.)