École De Nancy
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École de Nancy, or the Nancy School, was a group of
Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...
artisans and designers working in
Nancy, France Nancy is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the northeastern Departments of France, French department of Meurthe-et-Moselle. It was the capital of the Duchy of Lorraine, which was Lorraine and Barrois, annexed by France under King Louis X ...
between 1890 and 1914. Major figures included the furniture designer Louis Majorelle, ebonist and glass artist
Jacques Grüber Jacques Grüber (25 January 1870 – 15 December 1936) was a French woodworker and stained glass, stained-glass artist. Biography Grüber was born in Sundhouse (Alsace). After starting his training at the , where he would later be a teacher, h ...
, the glass and furniture designer
Émile Gallé Émile Gallé (; 4 May 1846 in Nancy, France, Nancy – 23 September 1904 in Nancy) was a French artist and designer who worked in glass, and is considered to be one of the major innovators in the French Art Nouveau movement. He was noted fo ...
, and the crystal manufactory of Daum. Their work was largely inspired by floral and vegetal forms found in the region. The goal of the group was to produce in series ordinary objects, such as furniture, glassware, and pottery, with fine craftsmanship and in original forms, making art objects available for people's homes.


History

The Nancy School emerged from dramatic events in the history of
Lorraine Lorraine, also , ; ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; ; ; is a cultural and historical region in Eastern France, now located in the administrative region of Grand Est. Its name stems from the medieval kingdom of ...
, which had become a province of France in 1776. After the French defeat in the
Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...
in 1870, neighboring
Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...
and a large part of Lorraine were ceded to the
German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...
, but Nancy remained inside France. The division resulted in a large exodus of French artists, artisans, teachers, and businessmen from German-occupied Lorraine to Nancy. The population of Nancy grew to 100,000, making it the largest city in Eastern France, and the city became the economic, political, and cultural center of the region. It became a center for the manufacture of textiles, leather, beer, glass, and ceramics. Because of its strategic importance near the German frontier, it also had excellent transportation connections to Paris and the rest of France. The Nancy School was formally organized in 1901 by a group of young craftsmen in the city. It had existed informally since 1894, when a group of artists participated in the new Lorraine Society of Decorative Arts. The new group was led by
Émile Gallé Émile Gallé (; 4 May 1846 in Nancy, France, Nancy – 23 September 1904 in Nancy) was a French artist and designer who worked in glass, and is considered to be one of the major innovators in the French Art Nouveau movement. He was noted fo ...
. The group participated with great success in the Paris Universal Exposition of 1900. Gallé particularly urged artists to return to nature as their principal source of inspiration. The formal goals of the School, published on February 13, 1901, declared that it was "A provincial alliance of the industries of art". It was to organize expositions and artists' workshops, to encourage the reform of artistic education, and to adapt the arts to industrial methods of production. The manifesto of the school declared that utility should be the chief requirement of the work created, and that they should be designed, as much as possible, after the natural flora of Lorraine, especially
ginkgo ''Ginkgo'' is a genus of non-flowering seed plants, assigned to the gymnosperms. The scientific name is also used as the English common name. The order to which the genus belongs, Ginkgoales, first appeared in the Permian, , and ''Ginkgo'' is n ...
, pennywort,
giant hogweed ''Heracleum mantegazzianum'', commonly known as giant hogweed, is a monocarpic perennial herbaceous plant in the carrot family Apiaceae. ''H. mantegazzianum'' is also known as cartwheel-flower, giant cow parsley, giant cow parsnip, or hogsb ...
,
water lily Water lily or water lilies may refer to: Plants * Members of the family Nymphaeaceae Nymphaeaceae () is a family of flowering plants, commonly called water lilies. They live as rhizomatous aquatic herbs in temperate climate, temperate ...
,
thistle Thistle is the common name of a group of flowering plants characterized by leaves with sharp spikes on the margins, mostly in the family Asteraceae. Prickles can also occur all over the planton the stem and on the flat parts of the leaves. T ...
,
gourd Gourds include the fruits of some flowering plant species in the family Cucurbitaceae, particularly '' Cucurbita'' and '' Lagenaria''. The term refers to a number of species and subspecies, many with hard shells, and some without. Many gourds ha ...
, and creatures such as
dragonflies A dragonfly is a flying insect belonging to the infraorder Anisoptera below the order Odonata. About 3,000 extant species of dragonflies are known. Most are tropical, with fewer species in temperate regions. Loss of wetland habitat threate ...
. The members of the founding committee were
Émile Gallé Émile Gallé (; 4 May 1846 in Nancy, France, Nancy – 23 September 1904 in Nancy) was a French artist and designer who worked in glass, and is considered to be one of the major innovators in the French Art Nouveau movement. He was noted fo ...
, Louis Majorelle, Jean-Antonin Daum, and ebenist and furniture designer Eugène Vallin.


Glassware and crystal

Glassware and crystal were arts for which Nancy became particularly known. The glassmaker Jean Daum emigrated to France in 1878 and started his own studio, Daum Glass, which was inherited by his two sons, Antonin Daum and his brother Auguste Daum. They guided the company into the Art Nouveau. The Daum brothers expressed their goal at the end of the 1880s: "to apply in an industrial way the true principles of decorative art." Their method was to produce objects in series, as well as one-of-a-kind items, and they adapted well to the new technology of electric light bulbs. The vases and lamps usually had very simple designs taken from plants or vegetables, with monochrome or richly varied colors of many different layers of glass within the lamp. File:Lamp-Daum-BMA.jpg, Daum lamp with trees and fallen snow (c. 1900) File:Cristallerie daum, vaso iris, nancy 1900 ca.JPG, Daum crystal vase with iris flowers (c. 1900) Vase Daum.jpg, Daum vase with cricket design (1900) File:Bonbonnière aux bleuets (musée des beaux-arts de Nancy).jpg, Daum Bonbon container with cornflower design of engraved glass, enamel, and gold by Daum (1901) File:Antonin daum e louis majorelle, lampade a tre braccia magnolia, 1903, 01.jpg, Daum lamp with Magnolia flowers, designed with Louis Majorelle (1903) File:Antonin daum, vaso tulipani, 1910 ca.jpg, Tulip vase by Antonin Daum (1910) The other major figure in glass art in Nancy was
Émile Gallé Émile Gallé (; 4 May 1846 in Nancy, France, Nancy – 23 September 1904 in Nancy) was a French artist and designer who worked in glass, and is considered to be one of the major innovators in the French Art Nouveau movement. He was noted fo ...
. The work of Gallé was greatly varied, with a rich assortment of colors, designs, and materials, including glass, ceramics, crystal,
porcelain Porcelain (), also called china, is a ceramic material made by heating Industrial mineral, raw materials, generally including kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The greater strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to oth ...
, and
faience Faience or faïence (; ) is the general English language term for fine tin-glazed pottery. The invention of a white Ceramic glaze, pottery glaze suitable for painted decoration, by the addition of an stannous oxide, oxide of tin to the Slip (c ...
. He experimented with different materials and a technique known as glass ''marqueterie'', introducing into the hot glass pieces of different colored glass, powdered glass, metal, or gold. He was also very interested in Japanese art, borrowing techniques which he used to accomplish his own goals. The critic Henri Franz wrote of Gallé in 1897, that while he used Japanese techniques, "nothing is farther from Japanese art. He only borrowed the expressions of Japanese art and remade them with skill and taste. Nature offered him an inexhaustible source of inspiration... When Gallé represented a plant, his immense artistic sensibility reduced it to its essence." File:Coupe Bégonia rose.jpg, Begonia Rose cup by
Émile Gallé Émile Gallé (; 4 May 1846 in Nancy, France, Nancy – 23 September 1904 in Nancy) was a French artist and designer who worked in glass, and is considered to be one of the major innovators in the French Art Nouveau movement. He was noted fo ...
(1894) File:Bud Vase (France), ca. 1900 (CH 18482741-2).jpg, Bud vase by
Émile Gallé Émile Gallé (; 4 May 1846 in Nancy, France, Nancy – 23 September 1904 in Nancy) was a French artist and designer who worked in glass, and is considered to be one of the major innovators in the French Art Nouveau movement. He was noted fo ...
(1900) File:Vase Orchidée.jpg, Orchid vase by
Émile Gallé Émile Gallé (; 4 May 1846 in Nancy, France, Nancy – 23 September 1904 in Nancy) was a French artist and designer who worked in glass, and is considered to be one of the major innovators in the French Art Nouveau movement. He was noted fo ...
(1897) File:Vase with branches of orchids Emile Gallé.jpg, Orchid branch vase by
Émile Gallé Émile Gallé (; 4 May 1846 in Nancy, France, Nancy – 23 September 1904 in Nancy) was a French artist and designer who worked in glass, and is considered to be one of the major innovators in the French Art Nouveau movement. He was noted fo ...
(1900)


Furniture

Furniture design and manufacture was another important art and industry in Nancy. The city had a large number of skilled artisans, many coming from German-occupied Alsace. The furniture designers worked closely with artists in other crafts, such as glassware and textiles. The most important figure in the furniture of Nancy was Louis Majorelle. At the age of twenty, with the death of his father, though he had planned to be a painter and artist, he took over the family business making furniture and ceramics. He was strongly influenced by the ideas of
Émile Gallé Émile Gallé (; 4 May 1846 in Nancy, France, Nancy – 23 September 1904 in Nancy) was a French artist and designer who worked in glass, and is considered to be one of the major innovators in the French Art Nouveau movement. He was noted fo ...
and was a founding member of the Nancy School. With the ideas of the school in mind, he oriented the furniture produced by his company away from traditional designs and toward the Art Nouveau. In the 1890s many of the Majorelle works were designed by his collaborators,
Jacques Grüber Jacques Grüber (25 January 1870 – 15 December 1936) was a French woodworker and stained glass, stained-glass artist. Biography Grüber was born in Sundhouse (Alsace). After starting his training at the , where he would later be a teacher, h ...
and Camille Gauthier. Majorelle often worked in collaboration with the Nancy glass designer
Émile Gallé Émile Gallé (; 4 May 1846 in Nancy, France, Nancy – 23 September 1904 in Nancy) was a French artist and designer who worked in glass, and is considered to be one of the major innovators in the French Art Nouveau movement. He was noted fo ...
. In 1898 a prominent Nancy architect, Lucien Weissemburger, joined his firm. More and more, however, he made his own designs. He designed not only woodwork, but also the fittings and decoration in bronze and other metals, and also made decorative ironwork. His ironwork creations included the elegant Art Nouveau stairway railing of the
Galeries Lafayette Galeries Lafayette () is an upmarket French department store chain, the biggest in Europe. Its flagship store is on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris but it now operates a number of locations in France and other countries ...
Department Store in Paris (1900). His work had great success at the Paris Universal Exposition of 1900. During this period, he presented finely crafted furniture made of dark
walnut A walnut is the edible seed of any tree of the genus '' Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''. They are accessory fruit because the outer covering of the fruit is technically an i ...
,
mahogany Mahogany is a straight- grained, reddish-brown timber of three tropical hardwood species of the genus ''Swietenia'', indigenous to the AmericasBridgewater, Samuel (2012). ''A Natural History of Belize: Inside the Maya Forest''. Austin: Universit ...
,
snakewood Snakewood is a common name of several different plants: * ''Acacia'' species (family Fabaceae) in Australia, ''Acacia eremaea'', ''Acacia intorta'', ''Acacia xiphophylla'' * ''Brosimum guianense'' (= ''Piratinera guianensis'') (family Moraceae) (Le ...
, and hazel wood contrasting with the gilded bronze and hammered copper ornaments inspired by natural forms, such as water lilies. His water lily bed (1902–03), now in the
Musée d'Orsay The Musée d'Orsay ( , , ) () is a museum in Paris, France, on the Rive Gauche, Left Bank of the Seine. It is housed in the former Gare d'Orsay, a Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts railway station built from 1898 to 1900. The museum holds mai ...
in Paris, is a classic example of this style. Another is the Orchid Desk (1903–05), made of
snakewood Snakewood is a common name of several different plants: * ''Acacia'' species (family Fabaceae) in Australia, ''Acacia eremaea'', ''Acacia intorta'', ''Acacia xiphophylla'' * ''Brosimum guianense'' (= ''Piratinera guianensis'') (family Moraceae) (Le ...
, ornamented with sculpted and chiseled bronze and copper. File:Meuble dEmile Gallé (musée des arts décoratifs) (4734600691).jpg, Cabinet of ash wood, oak and poplar, with marquetry of colored woods and sculpted bronze, by
Émile Gallé Émile Gallé (; 4 May 1846 in Nancy, France, Nancy – 23 September 1904 in Nancy) was a French artist and designer who worked in glass, and is considered to be one of the major innovators in the French Art Nouveau movement. He was noted fo ...
presented at the 1900 Paris Exposition (1900), Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris File:Majorelle Bed.jpg, The "Water Lily" bed by Louis Majorelle (1902-1903),
Musée d'Orsay The Musée d'Orsay ( , , ) () is a museum in Paris, France, on the Rive Gauche, Left Bank of the Seine. It is housed in the former Gare d'Orsay, a Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts railway station built from 1898 to 1900. The museum holds mai ...
, Paris File:Détail du lit "Nénuphars" de Louis Majorelle (musée dOrsay) (3338737145).jpg, Detail of the "Water Lily" bed by Louis Majorelle, Musée d'Orsay, Paris File:Majorelle-Desk.jpg, Orchid Desk by Louis Majorelle (1903–04), made of
snakewood Snakewood is a common name of several different plants: * ''Acacia'' species (family Fabaceae) in Australia, ''Acacia eremaea'', ''Acacia intorta'', ''Acacia xiphophylla'' * ''Brosimum guianense'' (= ''Piratinera guianensis'') (family Moraceae) (Le ...
, gilded bronze and copper, Musée d'Orsay, Paris


Stained glass

Stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...
was another Art Nouveau specialty in Nancy. The best-known artists were
Jacques Grüber Jacques Grüber (25 January 1870 – 15 December 1936) was a French woodworker and stained glass, stained-glass artist. Biography Grüber was born in Sundhouse (Alsace). After starting his training at the , where he would later be a teacher, h ...
,
Émile André François-Émile André (August 22, 1871 – March 10, 1933) was a French architect, artist, and furniture designer. He was the son of the architect of Charles André and the father of two other architects, Jacques André (architect), Jacques ...
, and Eugène Vallin, who often worked together on projects, and often worked with Majorelle, Daum, and the other Nancy designers.Fahr-Becker (2013) pg. 129 File:Émile andrè, ed eugéne vallin, porta di un camerino dei magasing françois vaxelaire et cie, nancy 1901 (vetrata di jacques gruber).JPG, Doors with stained glass for the Store of Francois Vaexlaire in Nancy (1901), glass by
Jacques Grüber Jacques Grüber (25 January 1870 – 15 December 1936) was a French woodworker and stained glass, stained-glass artist. Biography Grüber was born in Sundhouse (Alsace). After starting his training at the , where he would later be a teacher, h ...
, doors by Émile Andrè and Eugéne Vallin File:F54-NANCY verrière-Gruber-Crédit-Lyonnais.jpg, Skylight of Crédit-Lyonnais bank in Nancy by
Jacques Grüber Jacques Grüber (25 January 1870 – 15 December 1936) was a French woodworker and stained glass, stained-glass artist. Biography Grüber was born in Sundhouse (Alsace). After starting his training at the , where he would later be a teacher, h ...
(1901) File:Aquarium de l'Ecole de Nancy 04 by Line1.jpg, "Aquarium" window by
Jacques Grüber Jacques Grüber (25 January 1870 – 15 December 1936) was a French woodworker and stained glass, stained-glass artist. Biography Grüber was born in Sundhouse (Alsace). After starting his training at the , where he would later be a teacher, h ...
(1907) (Musée de l'École de Nancy) (1904) File:Vitrail de Jacques Gruber (musée de lEcole de Nancy) (7932913588).jpg, "Luffa and Water Lily" Window by
Jacques Grüber Jacques Grüber (25 January 1870 – 15 December 1936) was a French woodworker and stained glass, stained-glass artist. Biography Grüber was born in Sundhouse (Alsace). After starting his training at the , where he would later be a teacher, h ...
(1907–08) Musée de l'Ecole de Nancy) File:Villa Majorelle fenètre 02 by Line1.jpg, Window of the Villa Majorelle by
Jacques Grüber Jacques Grüber (25 January 1870 – 15 December 1936) was a French woodworker and stained glass, stained-glass artist. Biography Grüber was born in Sundhouse (Alsace). After starting his training at the , where he would later be a teacher, h ...
(1907–08) File:Jacques gruber, vetrata, 1908-09 ca.JPG, Window by
Jacques Grüber Jacques Grüber (25 January 1870 – 15 December 1936) was a French woodworker and stained glass, stained-glass artist. Biography Grüber was born in Sundhouse (Alsace). After starting his training at the , where he would later be a teacher, h ...
(1908–09),
Musée d'Orsay The Musée d'Orsay ( , , ) () is a museum in Paris, France, on the Rive Gauche, Left Bank of the Seine. It is housed in the former Gare d'Orsay, a Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts railway station built from 1898 to 1900. The museum holds mai ...
, Paris


Architecture - the Villa Majorelle

Nancy contains a number of Art Nouveau houses and buildings created and decorated by Majorelle and other School members. The best-known is the Villa Majorelle, the residence of Louis Majorelle. It was constructed between 1901 and 1902, the peak of the Art Nouveau period, by the young Paris architect Henri Sauvage, with furniture and decoration by the members of the School of Nancy. After the death of Majorelle, most of the furnishings were sold and dispersed. Some, including the bedroom furniture, can now be seen in the Musée de l'École de Nancy. File:Villa Majorelle facade.JPG, Facade of the Villa Majorelle File:Villa Majorelle Salon 2.JPG, Original interior of the salon (1904) File:Chambre à coucher Majorelle.jpg, Bedroom furniture from the Villa Majorelle, now in the Musée de l'École de Nancy File:Villa Majorelle dining room windows.JPG, Dining room windows by
Jacques Grüber Jacques Grüber (25 January 1870 – 15 December 1936) was a French woodworker and stained glass, stained-glass artist. Biography Grüber was born in Sundhouse (Alsace). After starting his training at the , where he would later be a teacher, h ...
File:Detail Ceramique Murale.jpg, Ceramic facade decoration by Alexandre Bigot


Notable collections in museums

Museums that have important collections of works from the École de Nancy include: * Musée de l'École de Nancy Nancy *
Musée d'Orsay The Musée d'Orsay ( , , ) () is a museum in Paris, France, on the Rive Gauche, Left Bank of the Seine. It is housed in the former Gare d'Orsay, a Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts railway station built from 1898 to 1900. The museum holds mai ...
, Paris *
Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris The Musée des Arts Décoratifs (, English: ''Museum of Decorative Arts'') is a museum in Paris, France, dedicated to the exhibition and preservation of the decorative arts. Located in the city’s 1st arrondissement, the museum occupies the P ...


See also

* Musée de l'École de Nancy * Art Nouveau glass art


Notes and citations


Bibliography

* *


Further reading

*


External links


École de Nancy website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ecole de Nancy Art Nouveau Education in Nancy, France Art schools in France French art movements