Papillons, Plate 6

Designer E.A. Séguy's book Papillons was commissioned by the American textile manufacturer F. Schumacher and Co. They wanted the nature-loving designer to create renderings of butterflies that would then be made into wallpaper, textiles, and other interior or fashion designs. Séguy referred to scientific illustrations as he composed 81 butterflies within 16 plates, as well as four additional plates of decorative patterns inspired by butterfly wings. 

All of Séguy's creations were made using the pochoir technique. Based on an ancient method, pochoir—French for "stencil"—uses stencils for color application. Each color in a design has its own stencil; layers of gouache are applied through each stencil using a brush or sponge. The resulting colors are richly intense, making a vivid print.