Léon Messagé

Léon Messagé was born March 8, 1842 in Sens, Yonne. At 20 years old, he lived in Paris at 23 rue de Rivoli and was then referred to as "stone carver." Around 1885, he began collaborating with François Linke, important cabinetmaker of the Belle Epoque,  providing him models for furniture and ornamental bronzes. They collaborated until the death of Messagé, who lived until the age of 58 and died May, 16 1901. It is through this collaboration with François Linke, that Messagé would be successful during the last decades of the nineteenth century. In fact, Messagé was awarded a gold medal at the 1889 World Fair and it was he who designed all the important furniture for the stand of François Linke for the Universal Exhibition in 1900. 

Even though he worked hard for Linke, Messagé still remained an independent craftsman, working on his own account. In his studio at 40 rue Sedaine, in the 11th arrondissement of Paris, he was the designer and creator of its models. The fundamental principle of the designs by Messagé is a light rococo, a characteristic asymmetry of rock that Parisian artisans developed in the 1720s.