René Jules Lalique (6 April 1860 – 1 May 1945)
was a French jeweller,
medallist, and glass designer known for his creations of
glass art,
perfume
Perfume (, ; french: parfum) is a mixture of fragrant essential oils or aroma compounds (fragrances), fixatives and solvents, usually in liquid form, used to give the human body, animals, food, objects, and living-spaces an agreeable scent. Th ...
bottles,
vase
A vase ( or ) is an open container. It can be made from a number of materials, such as ceramics, glass, non-rusting metals, such as aluminium, brass, bronze, or stainless steel. Even wood has been used to make vases, either by using tree species ...
s,
jewellery
Jewellery ( UK) or jewelry (U.S.) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the clothes. From a wester ...
,
chandelier
A chandelier (; also known as girandole, candelabra lamp, or least commonly suspended lights) is a branched ornamental light fixture designed to be mounted on ceilings or walls. Chandeliers are often ornate, and normally use incandescent li ...
s,
clock
A clock or a timepiece is a device used to measure and indicate time. The clock is one of the oldest human inventions, meeting the need to measure intervals of time shorter than the natural units such as the day, the lunar month and the ...
s, and automobile
hood ornament
A hood ornament (or bonnet ornament in Commonwealth English), also called, motor mascot, or car mascot is a specially crafted model which symbolizes a car company like a badge, located on the front center portion of the hood. It has been used ...
s.
Life
Lalique's early life was spent learning the methods of design and art he would use in his later life. At the age of two, his family moved to the suburbs of Paris, but traveled to
Aÿ
Aÿ (; also Ay) is a former commune in the Marne department in northeastern France. On 1 January 2016 it was merged into the new commune Aÿ-Champagne.
Champagne
Aÿ is most famous as a centre of the production of Champagne. Aÿ's vineyards a ...
for summer holidays. These trips influenced Lalique later on in his
naturalistic glasswork. With the death of his father, Lalique began working as an apprentice to goldsmith
Louis Aucoc
Louis Aucoc (21 September 1850 Paris – 10 December 1932 Paris), was a leading Parisian art nouveau jeweller and goldsmith, working with his father and brother André.
Biography
The Aucoc family firm at 6 Rue de la Paix was established in Paris i ...
in Paris. Lalique died on 1 May or 5 May 1945, in Paris. René Lalique was buried in
Père Lachaise Cemetery
Père Lachaise Cemetery (french: Cimetière du Père-Lachaise ; formerly , "East Cemetery") is the largest cemetery in Paris, France (). With more than 3.5 million visitors annually, it is the most visited necropolis in the world. Notable figures ...
in Paris, France. His granddaughter, Marie Claude-Lalique (b. 1936), was also a glass maker. She died on 14 April 2003 in
Fort Myers, Florida
Fort Myers (or Ft. Myers) is a city in southwestern Florida and the county seat and commercial center of Lee County, Florida, United States. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 92,245 in 20 ...
.
Education
In 1872, when he was twelve, he entered the
Collège Turgot where he started drawing and sketching. He attended evening classes at the
Ecole des arts décoratifs. He worked there from 1874 to 1876 and subsequently spent two years at the
Crystal Palace School of Art Sydenham Sydenham may refer to:
Places Australia
* Sydenham, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney
** Sydenham railway station, Sydney
* Sydenham, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne
** Sydenham railway line, the name of the Sunbury railway line, Melbourne ...
, London. During that time, he also practised as an apprentice goldsmith to leading Parisian
Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...
jeweller and goldsmith
Louis Aucoc
Louis Aucoc (21 September 1850 Paris – 10 December 1932 Paris), was a leading Parisian art nouveau jeweller and goldsmith, working with his father and brother André.
Biography
The Aucoc family firm at 6 Rue de la Paix was established in Paris i ...
. At the Sydenham Art College, his skills for graphic design were improved, and his naturalistic approach to art was further developed.
Art Nouveau jewellery designer
When he returned from England, he worked as a
freelance artist, designing pieces of jewellery for French jewelers
Cartier Cartier may refer to:
People
* Cartier (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name)
* Cartier Martin (born 1984), American basketball player
Places
* Cartier Island, an island north-west of Australia that is part of Australia' ...
,
Boucheron
Boucheron () is a French luxury jewellery and watches house located in Paris, 26 Place Vendôme, owned by Kering.
History
At the origins
The House of Boucheron is a French family dynasty founded by Frederic Boucheron in 1858, with the opening ...
, and others. In 1885, he opened his own business, designed and made his own jewellery and other glass pieces. After 1895, Lalique also created pieces for
Samuel Bing
Samuel Siegfried Bing (26 February 1838 – 6 September 1905), who usually gave his name as S. Bing (not to be confused with his brother, Samuel Otto Bing, 1850–1905), was a German-French art dealer who lived in Paris as an adult, and who ...
's Paris shop, the
Maison de l'Art Nouveau
The Maison de l'Art Nouveau ("House of New Art"), abbreviated often as L'Art Nouveau, and known also as Maison Bing for the owner, was a gallery opened on 26 December 1895, by Siegfried Bing at 22 rue de Provence, Paris.Martin Eidelberg and Suzan ...
, which gave Art Nouveau its name.
One of Lalique's major patrons was
Calouste Sarkis Gulbenkian
Calouste Sarkis Gulbenkian (, Western hy, Գալուստ Կիւլպէնկեան; 23 March 1869 – 20 July 1955), nicknamed "Mr Five Per Cent", was a British-Armenian businessman and philanthropist. He played a major role in making the petrole ...
, who commissioned more than 140 of his works over nearly 30 years.
Glass maker
Lalique was best known for his creations in
glass art.
In the 1920s, he became noted for his work in the
Art Deco
Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...
style. He was responsible for the walls of lighted glass and elegant coloured glass columns which filled the dining room and "grand salon" of the and the interior fittings, cross, screens,
reredos and font of
St. Matthew's Church at Millbrook in
Jersey
Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west F ...
(Lalique's "Glass Church").
As part of the Art Nouveau style, many of his jewellery pieces and vases showcase plants, flowers and flowing lines.
Both unique and commercial works of René Lalique are in the collections of a large number of public museums around the world including the
Museu Calouste Gulbenkian
The Calouste Gulbenkian Museum houses one of the world's most important private art collections. It includes works from Ancient Egypt to the early 20th century, spanning the arts of the Islamic World, China and Japan, as well as the French decor ...
in Lisbon, the Lalique Museum of Hakone in Japan, the and the
Musée des Arts Décoratifs in France, the in Germany, the
Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...
in London, the
Metropolitan Museum
The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
and the
Corning Museum in New York State, and the
Rijksmuseum
The Rijksmuseum () is the national museum of the Netherlands dedicated to Dutch arts and history and is located in Amsterdam. The museum is located at the Museum Square in the borough of Amsterdam South, close to the Van Gogh Museum, the St ...
in Amsterdam.
Works
File:Lalique "Spirit of the Wind" Mascot - Flickr - ingridtaylar.jpg, Citroën Company ''Spirit of the Wind,'' Blackhawk Museum
File:Horse by René Jules Lalique.jpg, Toyota: ''Horse''
File:Cigales Lalique Musée Gulbenkian.jpg, ''Cicadas'', Museu Calouste Gulbenkian
The Calouste Gulbenkian Museum houses one of the world's most important private art collections. It includes works from Ancient Egypt to the early 20th century, spanning the arts of the Islamic World, China and Japan, as well as the French decor ...
File:1956 Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith 'Perspex Roof' motif - Flickr - exfordy.jpg, 1956 Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith, glass model
File:Tiara de Lalique - Calouste Gulbenkian.jpg, Tiara, Museu Calouste Gulbenkian
File:Lalique Hood ornament.jpg, Lalique Hood ornament
File:René lalique, vaso ronde d'amours et feuillage, francia 1930.JPG, Glass vase
File:Fern Leaves Brooch Lalique.jpg, Fern Leaves Brooch, Walters Art Museum
The Walters Art Museum, located in Mount Vernon-Belvedere, Baltimore, Maryland, United States, is a public art museum founded and opened in 1934. It holds collections established during the mid-19th century. The museum's collection was amassed ...
, Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
File:Medusa by René Lalique22.jpg, ''Medusa''
File:Lalique glass altarpiece in the Glass Church Jersey.jpg, Lalique glass altarpiece in St. Matthew's Church (the Glass Church), Millbrook, Jersey
Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west F ...
File:René lailique, pettorale libellula, in oro, smalti, crisoprazio, calcedonio, pietre lunari e diamanti, 1897-98 ca. 01.jpg, Dragonfly lady brooch, Museu Calouste Gulbenkian, acquired from the artist in 1903
File:Vase - René Lalique.JPG, Glass vase, Museu Calouste Gulbenkian
File:Lalique "Thistle" pendant.jpg, Pendant, Museu Calouste Gulbenkian
File:Necklace MET DT1423.jpg, Necklace designed for Lalique's second wife, Alice Ledru, ca 1897–99, Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
, New York
File:A lighting fixture of René Lalique in the Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum.jpg, A lighting fixture in the great dining room in the Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum.
File:A lighting fixture of René Lalique in the Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum2.jpg, A lighting fixture in the great dining room in the Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum.
File:Khalili Collection Enamels of the World FR919.jpg, Corsage ornament, Khalili Collection of Enamels of the World
The Khalili Collection of Enamels of the World is a private collection of enamel artworks from the period 1700 to 2000, assembled by the British-Iranian scholar, collector and philanthropist Nasser D. Khalili. It is one of the eight Khalili Co ...
File:Nude Vénus.jpg, Nude Venus of René Lalique in the Mougins Museum of Classical Art
The MACM, the Mougins Museum of Classical Art (Musée d’Art Classique de Mougins) is an art museum located in the village of Mougins, in the Alpes-Maritimes department, France. It is 30 minutes from Nice airport and 15 minutes from the centre o ...
See also
*
Art Nouveau in Paris
The Art Nouveau movement of architecture and design flourished in Paris from about 1895 to 1914, reaching its high point at the 1900 Paris International Exposition. with the Art Nouveau metro stations designed by Hector Guimard. It was character ...
References
Bibliography
* Bayer, Patricia & Waller, Mark: ''The Art of René Lalique'', Bloomsbury Publishing Ltd, London 1988
* Dawes, Nicholas M.: ''Lalique Glass'', Crown Publishers, London 1986
* Elliott, Kelley J. ''René Lalique: Enchanted by Glass'', The Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, New York 2014.
* Weiner, Geoffrey George ''Unique Lalique Mascots'', The Book Guild Ltd., Brighton 2014
External links
Rene LaliqueBiography at RLalique.com.
from the company web site.
*
This is Jerseyarticle on St Matthew's Millbrook, the "Glass Church".
Musée Laliqueofficial website of French museum entirely about Lalique
Lalique Museum Doesburg Dutch museum about René Lalique and contemporaries
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lalique, Rene
1860 births
1945 deaths
Art Nouveau designers
Art Deco designers
Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery
French decorative artists
French glass artists
French jewellery designers
People from Marne (department)