CROATIA – FRANCE JOINT EDITION, Vase (Émile Gallé)

Vase, circa 1884 Production: Nancy, Meurthe-et-Moselle, France Location: Musée d'Orsay, Paris, France Émile Gallé (Nancy, 1846 – 1904) is one of the leading representatives of the French Art Nouveau in the creation of useable and decorative items made of ceramics and glass. He was just as successful in the realisation of the versatility of his creative interests with furniture design. The trade mark of Gallé's specific style is the luxurious inventory of decorative ornaments inspired by his interest in botany and symbolism giving him the title of the greatest glass painter. He gained his first experiences with ceramics and glass decorating in Nancy. After that, he studied botany, mineralogy and art history in Weimar. Once he completed his formal education, he continued his training at the Burgun, Schverer & Co. glass factory in Meisenthal and then finally returned to Nancy where he founded and managed his own company. With his inventive management of the workshop with more than 300 employed craftsmen, Gallé, in the modern design history, is known as the precursor of a modern art director. The production, in addition to small handmade series, also included a serial production of cast glass followed by application of decorations. He used experimentation as his fundamental work method. He achieved his first great success at Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1878 that encouraged him to take on a more daring approach to design. In Gallé's design, nature is the source of decorations as well as glass shapes. In addition, he was fascinated by the Japanese arts, especially graphics that were the reason his vase décor was more liberated. At the same time, experimenting, as a method, brought a richness of shapes and tones of unusual landscapes, lotuses, orchids, ferns and forest flowers, butterflies, birds and crickets, as well as other motifs that symbolise the newly discovered beauty. However, this is not only about superb decoration, but also Gallé's preoccupation with the life force in nature, one of the universal themes of new arts at the turn of the century.