The flowing, voluptuous curves of this armchair seem to create movement. They remind us of amorphic shapes found in nature. In the years around 1900 a large group of young designers sought to use materials commonly thought of as rigid - wood, glass and metals - in innovative ways. They imaginatively blended and adapted historic styles, such as 18th-century French Rococo, with its shell and flower motifs, with Far Eastern and folk influences. The style became known as l'Art Nouveau - or 'New Art'. It was shown at the Paris Universal Exhibition in 1900, where it was seen at its most highly developed.

The artist Louis Bigaux designed this particular chair for the well-known manufacturer and retailer Maison Bagués. It was shown at the Paris Universal Exhibition. Bigaux's work was unusual in comparison with that of other designers working in the Art Nouveau style, because he both understood and harnessed the production possibilities of machines. Many artists designed for hand manufacture, but Bigaux's designs were often mass-produced and therefore cheaper. They were well adapted to a bourgeois clientele searching for elegant yet affordable furniture.

This armchair formed part of a suite of furniture, which otherwise comprised a chair, a stool and a table. They are all now in the V&A's collection (1993-1900 and 1995 to 1996-1900).