Sèvres at the Turn of the 20th Century: Power, Attraction and Creation

2015

TEFAF 2015: Sèvres at the Turn of the 20th Century: Power, Attraction and Creation

© 2015 Jason Jacques Gallery PressObject descriptions © 2015 Jason Jacques GalleryIntroduction © 2015 by Etienne TornierPhotography by Robert Cass © 2015 Jason Jacques GalleryDesign by Sarah Marshall © 2015 Jason Jacques Gallery

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Special thanks to Paul Arthur.

Published in the United States byJason Jacques Gallery Press 29 East 73rd Street #1, New York, NY 10021tel +1.212.535.7500 www.jasonjacques.com

ISBN: 978-1-889097-40-4

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Située à une dizaine de kilomètres à l’Ouest de Paris, la ville de Sèvres compte environ 7000

habitants à la fin du 19e siècle, dont un bon nombre travaille le matériau céramique. Employés par la

Manufacture nationale de porcelaine ou par les nombreux ateliers indépendants qui se créent à proxi-mité, ces céramistes, tourneurs, émailleurs, dessinateurs, peintres ou mouleurs sont les principaux

acteurs de la renommée nationale et internationale de « Sèvres », marque de fabrique et symbole de la

réussite du modèle français dans la promotion des arts décoratifs depuis le règne de Louis XV.

Les années 1880-1890 marque un tournant dans la production de céramiques artistiques à Sèvres. La participation de la manufacture aux expositions universelles de Londres (1862), Paris (1867) et Vienne (1873) met en lumière ses limites artistiques et révèle la nécessité d’un renouvellement des formes, des décors et des techniques privilégiés depuis de trop nombreuses décennies. Membre de la

commission de perfectionnement de la manufacture nationale dès 1874, le céramiste Théodore Deck

(1823-1891) propose de se concentrer sur un choix plus restreint de couleurs, et de s’inspirer de tech-niques chinoises : « Je dois encore appeler l’attention de la Commission sur une couleur aussi belle que

brillante, et que Sèvres n’a pas encore mise au jour, c’est le rouge et le bleu flammé de Chine, autre-ment, rouge de cuivre au grand feu. […] Le musée de Sèvres contient, sans aucun doute, des spécimens de presque toutes les fabrications de la Chine et du Japon. C’est donc là qu’on peut trouver toutes les

pièces qui serviraient de sujet pour ces recherches consciencieuses. »1

Si des premiers essais ont été effectués par Jacques Joseph Ebelmen et Louis Alphonse Salve-tat au début des années 1850, il faut attendre le début des années 1880 et l’élaboration d’une nouvelle

pâte à Sèvres, pour voir apparaître les premières pièces dans cette technique. Charles Lauth, adminis-trateur et Georges Vogt, chef des travaux chimiques, fournissent des détails précis sur les couvertes

dites flambés ou flammés dans l’ouvrage publié en 1884 sur cette porcelaine nouvelle. Ils insistent entre autres sur l’aspect déterminant de la cuisson et particulièrement de la composition de l’atmos-phère du four dont les quantités en oxygène, acide carbonique et oxyde de carbone doivent être sans

cesse contrôlées afin d’obtenir une cuisson réductrice : « Une réduction insuffisante entraînera la transformation du rouge en vert ; trop de réduction donnera à la couverte une teinte noire ou brune,

et un aspect mal glacé ou picoté […] »2

1 Rapport adressé à Monsieur le ministre, par M. Duc, membre de l’institut, au nom de la commission de perfectionnement de la manufacture nationale de Sèvres, Paris : Imprimerie nationale, 1875, p.24.2 Lauth et Vogt, Notes sur la fabrication de la procelaine nouvelle, Paris : Imprimerie Charles Unsinger, 1885, p. 35.

SÈVRES AU TOURNANT DU 20E SIÈCLE POUVOIR, CRÉATION ET ATTRACTION

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Located about ten kilometers west of Paris, Sèvres boasted a population of 7000 at the end

of the 19th century, much of which worked in the ceramic industry. Employed by the National Manu-factory of porcelain or by various independent workshops founded close by, these ceramicists, turn-ers, enamellers, molders, designers or painters, were the main actors of the national and international

recognition of “Sèvres” as a brand mark and a symbol of the French success in the promotion of

decorative arts since the reign of Louis XV.

A significant turn in the production of artistic ceramics occurred at Sèvres in the 1880s and 1890s. The participation of the National Manufactory at the universal expositions (or World Fairs) of London (1862), Paris (1867) and Vienna (1873) revealed the artistic limits of the production and the eminent necessity to renew the shapes, décors and techniques favored by Sevres’ painters and

designers until then. Member of the commission de perfectionnement [development committee] of the National Manufactory since 1874, the ceramicist Théodore Deck (1823-1891) proposed restraint in the use of colors and inspiration from Chinese techniques: “I must call the attention of the Com-mission (committee) on a beautiful and shiny color, which Sèvres has not yet discovered, the flamed red and blue from China or high-fired red copper [oxide…] The Sèvres museum undoubtedly houses specimens of almost all kinds of Chinese and Japanese productions. One can find there all the pieces needed to conduct these conscientious researches”.1

While the first experiments in France had been taken up by Jacques-Joseph Ebelmen and Louis-Alphonse Salvetat at the beginning of the 1850s, the first oxblood porcelains only appeared in the first years of the 1880s with the development of a new ceramic paste. The administrator at the time, Charles Lauth, together with Georges Vogt, head of chemistry, provided accurate details about

the flamed glazes in their study of the new paste published in 1884, pointing-out the importance of firing and particularly the degree of oxidation in the kiln. The quantity of oxygen and carbon dioxide must be carefully controlled in order to obtain the right atmosphere: “An insufficient reduction would turn the red into green; a too-reducing atmosphere would confer a black or brown color, and a badly-glazed or spotted aspect […]”.2

1 Rapport adressé à Monsieur le ministre, par M. Duc, membre de l’institut, au nom de la commission de perfectionnement de la manufacture nationale de Sèvres (Paris: Imprimerie nationale, 1875), 24.2 Lauth and Vogt, Notes sur la fabrication de la procelaine nouvelle (Paris: Imprimerie Charles Unsinger, 1885), 35.

SÈVRES AT THE TURN OF THE 20TH CENTURY POWER, ATTRACTION AND CREATION

Les premières réussites dans cette technique sont présentées à l’exposition de l’Union cen-trale des arts décoratifs en 1884, « une des étapes les plus marquantes de l’histoire de Sèvres »3 comme

le soulignera quelques années plus tard Emile Baumgart, administrateur de la manufacture. Les pièces

exposées sont remarquées par le critique Paul Arène qui loue les « fonds rubis, roses et violets » et « ces

flammés pareils à des pierres précieuses ». Le vase Persian Sunburst témoigne de ces premiers essais qui fascinent le public (Fig.1). La manufacture continue les recherches sur ces glaçures flammées et obtient d’étonnantes variations de bleu et d’aubergine qu’elle applique à des bouteilles pansues (Fig.2) ou des formes nouvelles comme cette aiguière aux formes organiques imaginées par Léon Kann en

1898 (Fig.3).

La ville de Sèvres regroupe alors

un nombre important de céramistes in-dépendants qui entretiennent un lien

plus ou moins étroit avec l’institution na-tionale. Parmi eux, Émile Diffloth (1856-1933) et Taxile Doat (1851-1938), tous deux originaires de province (régions Midi-Pyrénées et Auvergne), offrent des exemples intéressants pour comprendre

l’attraction que génère « Sèvres », comme

ville et pôle de création.

Après un apprentissage dans

la fabrique de son père à Charenton, à

l’Est de Paris, Diffloth est employé de 1888 à 1892 par la fabrique d’Optat Mi-let à Sèvres, où il appose régulièrement

sa signature dans le décor, signe de la

qualité de son travail. Cette expérience

sévrienne est un véritable tremplin pour

le jeune céramiste : directeur artistique

de la manufacture Boch La Louvière

(Belgique) de 1892 à 1906, il est nommé professeur à l’université de Saint-Louis (Missouri) aux Etats-Unis de 1908 à

1910. De retour en France, il fonde finalement son propre atelier à Créteil, au nord de Paris, où il

produit des porcelaines et grès artistiques d’une grande qualité, régulièrement récompensés au Salon

des artistes français (Fig.4 et Fig.5).

3 Baumgart, Emile, La manufacture nationale de Sèvres à l’Exposition universelle de 1900, Paris : Librairie centrale des Beaux-arts, 1900, p. 7.

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Taxile Doat in his studio at the Manufactory of Sèvres.

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The first successes in this technique were presented in 1884 at the exhibition of the Union centrale des arts décoratifs [Central union of the decorative arts], “one of the most significant steps in the history of Sevres,”3 as the administrator of the manufactory, Emile Baumgart, later recalled.

The critic Paul Arène applauded the quality of Sèvres’ exhibition and especially liked the “purple,

pink and ruby red backgrounds” and the “flamed pots that look like precious stones”. The Persian Sunburst vase, dated 1884, attests to the quality of this early production of flamed porcelain (Fig.1). The National Manufactory continued research on this technique and obtained startling variations of

blue and aubergine, applied to pot-bellied bottles (Fig.2) or new forms such as the organic-shape ewer designed by Leon Kann in 1898 (Fig.3).

Sèvres boasted a number of important independent workshops, which often had close ties

with the national institution. Among them, those of Optat Milet, where Émile Diffloth (1856-1933) worked, and Taxile Doat (1851-1938), both coming from provincial France (Auvergne and Midi-Pyré-nées), offered vantage examples to understand the attraction generated by “Sèvres,” as a city and center for creation.

After being trained in his father’s factory in Charenton-le-Pont (south-east of Paris), Dif-floth was hired from 1888 to 1892 by Milet’s factory in Sèvres, where he often signed, in the décor, the pieces he painted. This experience in the “ceramic city” worked as a stepping stone in the ceramicist

career: artistic director of the Belgium manufactory Boch La Louvière from 1892 to 1906, he became professor at University City in Saint-Louis (Missouri) from 1909 to 1910. Back in France, he founded his own workshop in Creteil (North of Paris), where he produced artistic porcelains and stoneware of a very high quality, regularly awarded at the Salon des artistes français (Fig.4, 5).

While Taxile Doat followed similar paths, his career was more closely linked to Sèvres, both the town and the manufactory in which he worked as a decorator from 1877 to 1905. He however gained the artistic independence necessary to develop his own ideas by building his first kiln in Paris. In 1898 he moved to Sèvres, 54 rue Brancas, where he made most of his new experiments. Colleagues and

friends from Sèvres and Paris frequently visited him at Villa Kaolin, his home and workshop, named

after the clay needed to make porcelain. There he applied the pâte-sur-pâte technique, for which he became famous at Sèvres, on pumpkin-like shapes (Fig.6, 7) and corn cobs (Fig.8), which he exhibited at the Salon of the Société nationale des beaux-arts in 1903 and 1906. Fascinated by both naturalistic forms and iconography from Classical antiquity, he managed to blend these two inspirations through

the use of porcelain (Fig.9). There is no technique he was not able to master, not even the oxblood red to which he conferred a unique luminosity (Fig.10, 11). Acknowledged by his colleagues, and famous in the United States for his writings on porcelain, he was hired to teach at University City in Saint Louis, bringing with him his friend Diffloth and his assistant Eugène Labarrière. Back in Sèvres until his death in 1938, he continued to create objects of a great technical and artistic maturity (Fig.12).

3 Emile Baumgart, La manufacture nationale de Sèvres à l’Exposition universelle de 1900 (Paris: Librairie centrale des Beaux-arts, 1900), 7.

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S’il effectue une carrière comparable, Taxile Doat est beaucoup plus lié à Sèvres et à sa manu-facture dans laquelle il est employé comme décorateur dès 1877 et jusqu’en 1905. Il acquiert cependant rapidement l’indépendance nécessaire à l’épanouissement de ses multiples idées, en construisant un

premier four à Paris qu’il abandonne en 1898 pour s’installer durablement à Sèvres, rue Brancas, à partir de 1898. Lieu de travail et de résidence, la Villa Kaolin accueille ainsi régulièrement ses nom-breux amis et collègues sévriens. Il peut y donner libre-cours à ses expérimentations. La technique du décor en pâte-sur-pâte pour laquelle il est apprécié à la manufacture de Sèvres se retrouve sur des formes fantasques de courges (Fig.6, 7) ou d’épis de maïs (Fig.8) qu’il présente au salon de la Société nationale des beaux-arts de 1903 et 1906. À la fois fasciné par les formes engendrées par la nature et par l’iconographie antique grecque et romaine, il trouve dans le matériau porcelaine le moyen d’unir

ces univers (Fig.9). Aucune technique ne semble résistée à son savoir, pas même le rouge sang-de-bœuf auquel il confère une brillance unique (Fig.10, 11). Reconnu par ses pairs, et célèbre aux Etats-Unis pour ses écrits sur la porcelaine, il est également appelé à enseigner à l’université Saint-Louis aux côtés de Diffloth. À son retour à Sèvres, il continue de créer inlassablement jusqu’à son décès en 1939, des objets d’une grande maturité technique et stylistique (Fig.12).

Né à Sèvres en 1835, Ernest Chaplet cherche, à l’inverse de ses collègues, à s’en extraire rapi-dement. S’il est au contact, dès son plus jeune âge, avec les ouvriers de la manufacture et les céramistes

indépendants installés dans la ville, il part, juste après son apprentissage à la manufacture, pour Paris

où il travaille comme peintre sur porcelaine, puis à Bourg-la-Reine avec François Laurin. Avec lui il met au point en 1871 le procédé de la barbotine sur terre cuite qui est repris par de nombreuses ma-nufactures, dont Haviland & Co qui l’utilise pour ses premières production de faïences artistiques à l’atelier d’Auteuil, dirigé par Félix Bracquemond. De 1882 à 1887, Chaplet lui succède à la direction

de l’atelier, désormais situé rue Blomet. Pendant cette période, il met en place une production de

grès brun, inspiré dans leur décor à la fois par le Japon, la Bretagne et l’imagerie de Kate Greenaway

(1846-1901). Convié par Chaplet, le peintre et céramiste Edouard Dammouse (1850-1903) appose ses initiales sur quelques rares cache pots aux décors fleuris japonisants (Fig.13, 14). Installé à Sèvres et disposant de ses propres fours à partir de 1892, son frère Albert Dammouse poursuit à sa manière la création de vases en grès à décor japonisant (Fig.15)

Après des premiers es-sais de rouge de cuivre flammé sur grès dès 1884, Chaplet com-mence à son propre compte, à

Choisy-le-Roi, la production de porcelaine rouge flambé et ob-tient très vite des résultats im-pressionnants qui embrassent

l’ensemble de la palette colo-

Albert Dammouse in his studio, circa 1897.

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Born in Sèvres in 1835, Ernest Chaplet, unlike his counterparts, expressed his art and knowl-edge far from the national symbol. Although he appears to have apprenticed with Meyer Heine and Émile Lessore, both of whom worked at the Sèvres manufactory, at an early age, he left Sèvres for

Paris just after his training. In the capital he worked as a painter on porcelain and was then hired by

François Laurin in Bourg-la-Reine (South of Paris). Together they perfected a new technical process for earthenware decoration called barbotine, soon applied by numerous factories in France and the

United States, such as Haviland & Co for their artistic faience made under the direction of Félix Bracquemond in Auteuil, Paris. Haviland’s Parisian workshop then moved to rue Blomet, in the Pari-sian district of Vaugirard where Chaplet took over the direction until the closing in 1887. During this

five-year period, he created a line of brown stoneware inspired by the art of Japan, Brittany traditions and Kate Greenaway’s images. Invited by Chaplet, the painter and ceramicist Edouard Dammouse

(1850-1903) signed with his initials a few rare pieces decorated with blossoming tree branches (Fig.13, 14). Settled in Sèvres with his own kilns as from 1892, his brother Albert Dammouse continued mak-ing japoniste brown stoneware vases in his own particular style (Fig.15)

After experimenting flamed copper red glaze on stoneware in 1884-1885, Chaplet started his own production of oxblood porcelain in Choisy-le-Roi as from 1887 and, in a short period of time, obtained impressive results, embracing a wide range of colors: dark reds called “horse’s lung” and

“mule’s liver”; brighter reds such as the famous “oxblood” red; milky blue tones such as “sky blue after

Ernest Chaplet at his Choisy-le-Roi studio. Photo from Art and Decoration, 1910 in the article by Roger Marx.

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rée : des rouges sombres dits « poumon-de-cheval » et « foie-de-mulet » au rouge plus clair dit « sang-de-bœuf », en passant par des tons lactés « clair-de-lune » ou « bleu de ciel après la pluie ». Si Chaplet recouvre de ses couvertes rouges des formes chinoises (Fig.16, 17), il invente également des « formes primitives et joyeusement barbares », comme les désigne le critique Arsène Alexandre, dont l’épais-seur de la pâte et de l’émail invite à les « tenir à pleines mains » 4 (Fig.18). Dans sa conception du matériau céramique et son adaptation du rouge flambé, Chaplet influence une nouvelle génération de céramistes qui, eux, travaillent le grès comme Pierre-Adrien Dalpayrat (1844-1910) (Fig.19) ou de nouveau Albert Dammouse (Fig.20).

« Un pareil homme [Chaplet] à la tête de Sèvres eût sauvé la manufacture. Mais l’Etat n’eût jamais voulu, ni la manufacture non plus, et M. Chaplet encore moins. »5

Face aux exploits de céramistes indépendants comme Chaplet et à la multiplication d’ateliers

de céramiques artistiques à Sèvres même, la manufacture nationale agit en mettant en place une im-portante réorganisation. Afin d’ouvrir l’institution aux artistes et fabriques extérieures, une nouvelle école de céramique est créé en 1892 : elle adopte un nouveau système d’admission et donne désormais la part belle aux travaux des élèves qui sont couronnés d’un Grand prix à l’Exposition universelle de

1900. Avec le recrutement d’Alexandre Sandier à la direction artistique de la manufacture à partir de 1897, la manufacture de Sèvres embrasse l’Art nouveau et ses principes créateurs : abandon des formes anciennes, étude de la nature dans la composition décorative, perfectionnement de procédés

de fabrication et élaboration de nouvelles formes ne comportant aucun artifice de montage. Il s’agit alors de « s’appliquer à rechercher la pureté des lignes […], la sincérité, dans l’art comme dans la fabri-cation, devant primer sur toute autre considération […] »6. Employé à Sèvres depuis 1883, le peintre Henri-Joseph Lasserre est l’un des principaux acteurs de ce renouvellement des décors, stylisant la nature, flirtant avec l’abstraction (Fig.21, 22). L’utilisation du grès tant pour la confection de vases que pour la réalisation de grands décors architecturaux comme ceux du Grand Palais à Paris témoigne de

cette renaissance (Fig.23).

Dans les premières décennies du 20e siècle, la manufacture poursuit son ouverture aux céra-mistes indépendants et marque une volonté claire de faire corps avec son temps. Le céramiste Maurice

Gensoli (1892-1972) est présenté par le critique d’art René Chavance au directeur de Sèvres, Leche-vallier-Chevignard, qui l’accepte en 1921 comme artiste indépendant. À partir de 1924, il est nommé chef de l’atelier faïence qui vient juste d’être rétabli. Il y crée une vingtaine de formes s’inspirant du répertoire de la faïence traditionnelle. Parallèlement, Gensoli se consacre à son œuvre personnelle et compose des reliefs en grès inspirés de figures mythologiques marines comme les sirènes, les serpents de mer et autres tritons (Fig.24, 25), qu’il expose au Salon des artistes décorateurs. Remarqué et appré-

4 Arsène Alexandre, « Le Potier aveugle », Le Figaro, 14 mars 1899, p.1 5 Arsène Alexandre, « Le Salon du Champs-de-Mars », Le Figaro, 23 avril 1897, p. 4. 6 Baumgart, Emile, La manufacture nationale de Sèvres à l’Exposition universelle de 1900, Paris : Librairie centrale des Beaux-arts, 1900, p. 10.

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the rain” or “moonlight”. If Chaplet first applied his red glazes on Chinese forms (Fig.16, 17), he then invented new shapes, “primitive and joyfully barbarian,” as described by the critic Arsène Alexandre,

the thickness of the paste and glaze inviting the viewer to hold the object firmly “in both hands”4

(Fig.18). Chaplet’s conception of ceramic art and his adaptation of the red-flamed glaze influenced a new generation of ceramicists who chose to work with stoneware instead of porcelain, these artists

including Pierre-Adrien Dalpayrat (1844-1910) (Fig.19) and Albert Dammouse (Fig.20).

"Such a man [Chaplet] at the head of Sèvres would have saved the manufactory. But the State would have never wanted, the manufactory neither, and M. Chaplet even less."5

Concerned by the success of several ceramicists such as Chaplet and the increasing number

of independent workshops in Sèvres, the National Manufactory decided to undertake a profound

reorganization at the beginning of the 1890s. In order to open up the institution to other artists and factories, a new school of ceramics was created in 1892: a new system of admission was adopted and the works made by students were now better evaluated and acknowledged, being awarded a “Grand

Prix” at the Paris 1900 Universal exhibition. Alexandre Sandier’s arrival at the artistic direction in 1897 helped the Manufactory embracing the Art nouveau movement and its main principles, with the creation of hundreds of new shapes, the study of nature in the composition of décors and the devel-opment of new fabrication processes. The aim was to “research the purity of lines […], the sincerity, in the art and the fabrication, should take priority over all other considerations […]”.6 Hired at Sèvres from 1883, the painter Henri-Joseph Lasserre was one of the main protagonists of the renewal in the decoration of objects, stylizing nature as never before, “flirting with abstraction” (Fig.21, 22). The use of stoneware for both the production of vases and the creation of large architectural décors as those

of the Grand Palais in Paris also demonstrates the importance of this renaissance (Fig.23).

During the first decades of the 20th century, the man-ufactory continued to open up to independent ceramicists

and demonstrated a willingness to embrace the successive

artistic movements. In 1921, the ceramicist Maurice Gensoli (1892-1972) was introduced by the art critic René Chavance to the director of Sèvres, Lechevallier-Chevignard, who hired him as an independent artist attached to the manufactory.

In 1924 he was appointed chief of the faience workshop that had just reopened. There he created about twenty shapes

based on traditional faience. At the same time Gensoli dedi-cated himself to his own work. He made, among other things stoneware reliefs involving mythological figures such as si-

4 Arsène Alexandre, “Le Potier aveugle,” Le Figaro, March 14, 1899, 1. 5 Arsène Alexandre, “Le Salon du Champs-de-Mars,” Le Figaro, April 23, 1897, 4. 6 Emile Baumgart, La manufacture nationale de Sèvres à l’Exposition universelle de 1900 (Paris: Librairie centrale des Beaux-arts, 1900), 10.

Portrait of Maurice Gensoli.

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cié des critiques, il est chargé de la réalisation d’une fontaine pour le paquebot Normandie en 1927. Il poursuit son travail à Sèvres en tant que chef du service de la décoration, de 1951 à 1957, et continue de réaliser des objets aux formes rondes et généreuses, limitant le motif du serpent à la prise d’un

couvercle (Fig.26). Jean Mayodon (1893-1967) est animé par les mêmes inspirations. Né à Sèvres, il y reste et crée son atelier personnel. Il se plaît à faire évoluer sur des coupes ou des vases pansus des

poissons, des oiseaux ou des figures néoclassiques, jouant avec les reliefs et les fonds d’or (Fig.27, 28). Nommé conseiller puis directeur de la manufacture nationale de 1934 à 1942, il réalise entre autres le décor en faïence d’un petit salon pour l’Exposition universelle de Paris en 1937 et créé plus de quatre-vingt formes de vases.

À son départ de la manufacture, Émile Decoeur (1876-1953) est nommé conseiller artistique, fonction qu’il occupe jusqu’en 1948. Les années précédant cette nomination marquent l’aboutisse-ment de son style vers une épure extrême, à la recherche de coloris nouveaux, jouant avec l’opacité et

l’épaisseur de l’émail (Fig.29 à 33). Alors qu’il était au faîte de sa renommée, il cesse toute activité per-sonnelle pour se consacrer entièrement à l’activité de la manufacture. On retrouve dans les modèles

qu’il crée pour Sèvres les grandes caractéristiques de son art. Il réutilise également des formes mises

au point dans son propre atelier dans les années 1910-1920. Decoeur rallume ses fours et reprend ses recherches à la sortie de la guerre en 1945 jusqu’à son décès en 1953.

A young Jean Mayodon poses with his creations.

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rens, sea snakes, or tritons (Fig.24, 25), that he exhibited at the Salon des artistes décorateurs. Praised by the critics, Gensoli was commissioned to make one of the fountains of the famous ship Normandie

in 1927. He continued his work at Sèvres as chief of the decoration department from 1951 to 1957, where he pursued the creation of round and ample shapes, limiting the motif of the snake to the catch

of a lid (Fig.26). Jean Mayodon (1893-1967) followed the same inspirations. Born in Sèvres, he stayed there and created his own workshop. He especially enjoyed representing birds, fishes, or neoclassical figures on pot-bellied vases or jars, sometimes adding low relief details and a gold background (Fig.27, 28). Appointed advisor and then director of the national manufactory from 1934 to 1942, he was re-sponsible for the earthenware decoration of a petit salon at the 1937 Universal exhibition in Paris. He also created over eighty new vase shapes.

Upon Mayodon’s departure from the manufactory, Émile Decoeur (1876-1953) was appointed artistic advisor, a position where he held until 1948. The years previous to this nomination marked the achievement of his style towards an extreme soberness in both shapes and colors, using the opacity

and thickness of the glaze (Fig.29 to 33). While Decoeur’s recognition was at its peak, he ceased his personal production to devote himself to the activity of the manufactory. In the models he created for

Sèvres, one can find the main characteristics of his style. He interestingly used the shapes he perfected in his own workshop in the 1910s and 20s. At the end of WWII in 1945 Decoeur fired up its kilns again and continued his research until his death in 1953.

Émile Decoeur admires his work.

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Manufacture Nationale de SèvresPersian Sunburst, 1884porcelain13.5h x 7.8w in. / 34.3h x 19.8w cm.provenance: Francois-Josef Graf Collection, Paris

fig. 1

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Manufacture Nationale de SèvresIndigo Drip, c. 1900porcelain15.3h x 7.8w in. / 38.9h x 19.8w cm.provenance: Francois-Josef Graf Collection, Paris

fig. 2

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Léon KannManufacture Nationale de SèvresBlood Vine, 1898porcelain8.3h x 6w in. / 21h x 15.2w cm.provenance: Francois-Josef Graf Collection, Paris

By 1900, the prestigious Manufacture Nationale de Sèvres recognized the burgeoning taste for Art Nouveau, and with its vast technical and artistic resources, created outstanding ceramics in le style moderne. Léon Kann, active at the manufactory from 1896 to 1908, designed the firm’s remarkable vegetal forms, such as this magnificent ewer. The tendril handle virtually embodies the whiplash curve that helped define French Art Nouveau style, for better or worse (detractors infamously dubbed it the noodle style). Kann’s ewer design structurally unifies the decorative handle and gourd-shaped body, demonstrating a proto-modernist tendency in Art Nouveau. The overall emphasis on stylized natural forms, rather than historical design precedents, points toward the integration of form and function that would characterize much of 20th century design. This example of Kann’s ewer is decorated with a spectacular flambé glaze, whose basis in copper oxide reduction firing was pioneered by Sèvres during the 1880s-90s.

fig. 3

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Émile DifflothAutumn Dusk, c. 1910porcelain10.25h x 4.25w in. / 26h x 10.8w cm.

fig. 4

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Émile DifflothGolden Moths, c. 1910stoneware7.3h x 5w in. / 18.5h x 12.7w cm.

A rare and superb porcelaneous stoneware vase by Émile Diffloth. The ovoid body is decorated with a brilliant iridescent crystalline enamel glaze that Diffloth invented when he was artistic director of Boch Frères at La Louviere, Belgium. This unique glaze could be high-fired, with crystalline patterns forming as it cooled. Three golden moths hover above heart shaped lozenges flecked with grey crystalline patterns. Lapis blue mottling cascades from the narrow ring neck to the foot. The entire décor has a lovely haziness perfectly suited to its nocturnal theme.

fig. 5

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Taxile DoatLa Musique et La Danse, 1903porcelain14h x 7w in. / 35.6h x 17.8w cm.

A superb porcelain bottle with pâte-sur-pâte decoration and a stem-shaped stopper. The vegetal body is decorated with a matte high-temperature drip glaze, with areas of glossy flambé reduction. Two apple green medallions on opposing sides of the shoulder feature putti alternately playing instruments and dancing executed in glossy white pâte-sur-pâte. Grotesque faces, also in pâte-sur-pâte, appear on crosswise areas of the shoulder. The medallions and grotesque faces are embedded in a pâte d'application lambrequin with allover triangular patterning. The bottle rests on three stubby rounded feet enclosed within the base. This bottle, made shortly after Doat's triumphant display at the 1900 Paris World's Fair, demonstrates his unparalleled ability to combine different types of clay and glaze effects on a single piece, all the while accounting for varying degrees of shrinkage during firing. Although Doat had perfected his use of pâte-sur-pâte decoration at the Manufacture Nationale de Sèvres, he applied the technique in a highly unique and personal manner on studio pieces produced at his atelier in Sèvres.

fig. 6, 7

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Taxile DoatDoat’s Maize, 1900plaster of Paris10.5h x 6w in. / 26.7h x 15.2w cm.

The original plaster of Paris model of Taxile Doat's corn vase, this is a study that Doat kept for reference purposes. It was owned by Doat's estate until 2004. Original cold painted surface.

fig. 8

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Taxile DoatVase de Théâtre Romain, 1906porcelain11h x 8.5w in. / 27.9h x 21.6w cm.

fig. 9

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Taxile DoatJade Medallion, c. 1897porcelain10.8h x 4.8w in. / 27.4h x 12.2w cm.provenance: Francois-Josef Graf Collection, Paris

This stunning four-sided vase is covered in a rich sang-de-boeuf glaze, which thins at the edges, exposing the vivid white porcelain. Jade colored medallions with an alluring marbleized effect encircle the form at shoulder height.

fig. 10

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Taxile DoatWater and Wine, 1907porcelain9.8h x 16w in. / 24.9h x 40.6w cm.provenance: Larry Arthur Simms Collection, USA

fig. 11

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Taxile DoatVase Couvert, c. 1926porcelain4h x 2w in. / 10.2h x 5.1w cm.

This petite lidded vase of elegant tapering form is richly decorated with a thick dripping brown glaze which is covered in a delicately rendered, pointillistic grid-like pattern. Further adorned with spots of green, white, and dark blue, the eclectic decor of this magnificent piece exemplifies Doat's mastery of combining various glaze techniques, patterns, and styles on a single vase.

fig. 12

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Edouard Dammouse & Ernest Chapletfor Haviland & CieJaponist Cachepot, 1885stoneware11.3h x 12.5w in. / 28.7h x 31.8w cm.

The elegant simplicity of this form is complimented with rich brown and burnt umber glazes and Japonist style flowers blooming in abundance. The lively motif of flowers and lush green leaves is enhanced with gold accents throughout.

fig. 13

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Edouard DammouseAutumnal Delight, c. 1885Kintsugi-repaired glazed decorated stoneware cachepot10h x 13.w5 in. / 25.4h x 34.3w cm.

fig. 14

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Albert-Louis DammouseFloral Vase, 1898stoneware with bronze mount17h x 7w in. / 43.2h x 17.8w cm.provenance: Robert A. Ellison, Jr. Collection, USA

fig. 15

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Ernest ChapletMassive Oxblood Vase, c. 1887porcelain16.25h x 12.5w in. / 41.3h x 31.8w cm.provenance: Robert A. Ellison, Jr. Collection, USA

fig. 16

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Ernest ChapletMeiping, c. 1895porcelain21.5h x 11w in. / 54.6h x 27.9w cm.provenance: Francois-Josef Graf Collection, Paris

With its high-shouldered meiping form, this majestic vase recalls the oxblood glazed vessels Chaplet exhibited at the 1889 Paris Universal Exposition, where he garnered a gold medal and international recognition. Here, an octagonally faceted base reanimates the ancient meiping form, while pools of purplish-blue flambé around the neck enliven frugally applied oxblood glaze on the partly exposed porcelain body. These novel features demonstrate Chaplet’s genius for updating classical Chinese styles without compromising his deep respect for traditional sources.

description by Claire Cass

fig. 17

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Ernest ChapletSang de Boeuf Bottle, 1899stoneware9.8h x 5.1w in. / 24.9h x 13w cm.

The sister to this vase is in the permanent collection of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris.

fig. 18

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Jean Coulon and Pierre-Adrien DalpayratLa Nuit Plus, 1894stoneware9.5h x 7.8w in. / 24.1h x 19.8w cm.

Symbolist sculptor Jean Coulon envisioned Night as an owl composed of deeply sensual females. Ceramist Dalpayrat interpreted Coulon's design in stoneware thereby establishing his professional reputation when exhibiting it at the Galerie Georges Petit in Paris in December 1894. Coulon was already well-established, having made his debut at the Salon des Artistes Français in Paris in 1880. This design demonstrates his awareness of High Renaissance and Mannerist sculpture including Michelangelo's "Night and Day" figures, created in 1524 of the tomb of Giuliano de Medici, in the Church of San Lorenzo, Florence.

fig. 19

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Albert-Louis DammouseCascade, c. 1895stoneware26h x 10w in. / 66h x 25.4w cm.

Simple and refined in form, this tall, high-shouldered stoneware vase, with a short cylindrical neck is decorated in a gorgeous mottled berry hued glaze, lightly flecked with blue. The thick, dripping glaze flows along the length of the vessel, leaving a bit of stoneware exposed at the base. This vase shows the influence of Japanese aesthetics on the masterful work of Dammouse.

fig. 20

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Henri Joseph Lasserre & Cardeilhac Manufacture Nationale de SèvresImperial Winter Vase d'Aiseray, 1897porcelain with silver and gilt plated mount and carved malachite finial12.25h x 7.5w in. / 31.1h x 19w cm.provenance: Félix Marcilhac Collection, Paris

fig. 21

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Henri Joseph LasserreManufacture Nationale de SèvresFlourish Orchid, 1909porcelain21h x 8w in. / 53.3h x 20.3w cm.

fig. 22

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Manufacture Nationale de SèvresLeafy Alien Pod, c. 1900glazed stoneware5.5h x 5.5w in. / 14h x 14w cm.

fig. 23

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Maurice GensoliMermaid Sculpture, c. 1930glazed stoneware9h x 9.25w in. / 22.9h x 23.5w cm.provenance: Robert A. Ellison, Jr. Collection, USA

fig. 24

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Maurice GensoliViper’s Nest, c. 1930stoneware5.5h x 11.8w in. / 14h x 30w cm.provenance: Jacques Émile Ruhlmann Collection, France; Alain Lesieutre Collection, France

Thick-bodied snakes coiling around and peering over the rim of this large porcelain bowl form an intriguing nest-like centerpiece. Because of the depth of the sculpture, light and shadow play an important part in the beauty of this piece. The pooling and dripping Japonist glaze adds a further textural dimension and perhaps serves as a reminder of the snakes’ deadly venom.

fig. 25

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Maurice GensoliSpherical Snake Pot, c. 1947glazed stoneware4h x 3.5w in. / 10.2h x 8.9w cm.provenance: Lenoble Family Collection, France; Jacques Mostini Collection, Paris;Lambrechts-Tob Collection, Belgium

fig. 26

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Jean MayodonWinged Vase, c. 1930glazed stoneware13.5h x 8w in. / 34.3h x 20.3w cm.provenance: Robert A. Ellison, Jr. Collection, USA

fig. 27

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Jean MayodonPerfect Pets, 1926stoneware7.8h x 6.8w in. / 19.8h x 17.3w cm.provenance: Jerome M. Shaw Collection, USA

fig. 28

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Émile DecoeurOstrich Egg, c. 1925glazed stoneware5.9h x 7w in. / 15h x 17.8w cm.

fig. 29

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Émile DecoeurJade Vase, 1930glazed stoneware10.8h x 7.3w in. / 27.4h x 18.5w cm.provenance: Stuart Tomc Collection, USA

By the 1920s, Decoeur's mastery of glaze effects was being showcased on stoneware bodies of simple yet elegant form. Decorated in a mottled glaze in a gentle green hue, incised bands encircle the base, adding texture to the otherwise smooth surface. The influence of classical Chinese models, especially pronounced during this period, is reflected in this lovely stoneware vase.

fig. 30

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Émile DecoeurGrand Vase, 1930glazed stoneware15h x 8w in. / 38.1h x 20.3w cm.

fig. 31

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Émile DecoeurMauve Matter Galaxy, c. 1930stoneware6.8h x 5.8w in. / 17.3h x 14.7w cm.provenance: Jerome M. Shaw Collection, USA; Jeffrey Belkin Collection, USA

The globular form and distinctive mauve matte glaze decoration of this stoneware vase work together to create the effect of heavily cratered planetary terrain. At the same time, the distorted clusters of white flecks create the appearance of a dense ring of white matter encircling the form like the rings of Uranus. A captivating example of Decoeur's mature style.

fig. 32

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Émile DecoeurRippled Jade, c. 1930glazed stoneware7.75h x 4w in. / 19.7h x 10.2w cm.provenance: Galerie Jacques de Vos, Paris

fig. 33

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Emile Belet for Paul MiletFloral Vase, c. 1900stoneware16.5h x 6.3w in. / 41.9h x 16w cm.provenance: Gerard Grandidier, Paris

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Jean-Michel CazinSanta Lucia Vase, 1899glazed stoneware and bronze mount12.9h x 7.5w in. / 32.8h x 19w cm.provenance: Félix Marcilhac Collection, Paris

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Jean-Michel CazinOvoid Bisque Vase, 1906bisque porcelain5.25h x 4.5w in. / 13.3h x 11.4w cm.provenance: Lambrechts-Tob Collection, Belgium

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Jean-Michel CazinMarble Floral Vase, 1895porcelain5h x 2.5w in. / 12.7h x 6.4w cm.

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Hector GuimardJardiniere, c. 1900glazed ceramic8.5h x 25.25w x 11.5d in. / 21.6h x 64.1w x 29.2d cm.provenance: Lloyd and Barbara Macklowe Collection, USA

Model illustrated in Guimard exhibition catalogue, Musée d'Orsay, Musée des Arts Décoratifs et des Tissus, Paris, 1992, p. 262, fig. 1

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Manufacture Nationale de SèvresLily Coupe, 1904porcelain13h x 9.5w in. / 33h x 24.1w cm.

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Manufacture Nationale de SèvresWhite Thistle, c. 1900porcelain4h x 2.5w in. / 10.2h x 6.4w cm.

Model illustrated in Lajoix, Anne, La Céramique en France: 1925-1947. (Paris, France: Anne Lajoix, 1983), 21.

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Mahieddine BoutalebManufacture Nationale de SèvresÉmile Decoeur Vase n° 14Hematite, 1970porcelain15.8h x 10w in. / 40.1h x 25.4w cm.

Information courtesy of Isabelle Laurin.

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Other titles from the Jason Jacques Gallery Press

Masterpieces of French Art Pottery, 1885-1910Published 2005, 46 pages, US $32This 46 page exhibition catalogue explores the highlights of the ceramics revolution that swept France between 1880 and 1915. It includes essays on leading designers Hector Guimard, Ernest Chaplet, Auguste Delaherche, Jean Carriès, Georges Hoentschel, Émile Grittel, Paul Jeanneney, Paul Milet, Taxile Doat, Leonard Gebleux, Pierre Adrien Dalpayrat, Edmond Lachenal, Raoul Lachenal, Émile Decoeur, Joseph Mougin, Ernest Bussière,

Clément Massier. 68 full color illustrations of rare examples; text by Claire Cass.

Rediscovering Portfolio Prints by Gustav Klimt and Egon SchielePublished 2006, 90 pages, Sold out. Out of print.This 90 page exhibition catalogue examines the long-neglected area of Klimt and Schiele portfolio prints, focusing on four portfolios by Klimt and two by Schiele. 90 pages including an appendix that explains the relevant technical processes of collotype print-making. Fully illustrated. Text by Claire Cass.

Clément Massier: Master of IridescencePublished 2006, 140 pages, US $50Clément Massier's 'reflets métalliques,' widely praised at the turn of the 20th century, are still marvels today. This exhibition catalog features an introduction by French art pottery authority Dr. Martin Eidelberg (pp. I - VI) and an essay by Claire Cass (pp. IX - XX). Piece descriptions are also by Claire Cass. Color illustrations depict 58 masterworks by Massier and his protégées: Delphin Massier, Jérome Massier Fils, Charles Delanglade, Jacques Sicard, Frédéric Danton, and the firm of Montiéres. An informative appendix provides technical information that helps explain the luster glazing process.

Hector Guimard: Architectural ElementsPublished 2007, 34 pages, US $20Claire Cass's essay in the Hector Guimard exhibition catalogue establishes the architect's place within the larger context of Art Nouveau architecture before homing in on the specific examples whose images follow. The escutcheons from the Paris Metro, a window grille from the Castel Henriette, the spectacular fireplace and chimney piece from the Maison Coillot are just a few of the images that reveal Guimard's genius.

Edmond Lachenal & His LegacyPublished 2008, 208 pages, US $95"Edmond Lachenal & His Legacy" offers the first comprehensive look at five ceramists who are seminal figures in the history of Art Nouveau and Art Deco ceramic art. The hardbound volume contains a scholarly yet accessible essay, detailed piece descriptions, and stunning color photographs. This is the only book ever published on Edmond Lachenal. Chapters: Edmond Lachenal's master, Théodore Deck; Edmond Lachenal and his sons, Raoul Lachenal and Jean-Jacques Lachenal; and Edmond Lachenal's student and master in his own right, Émile Decoeur.

Exotica: Exotic Influences on European Decorative Arts 1875-1925Published 2010, 318 pages, US $125Exotica is the companion to the exhibition of the same name held at the Jason Jacques Gallery, New York, in the autumn of 2010. Show and book bring together an exciting selection of objects that vividly illustrate concepts of the exotic in European decorative arts between 1875 and 1925. Whether influenced by cultures distant in time or place, forms and decorations were made new again in the hands of the creative men and women of an era in which nationalism, modernity, and the ascendancy of handcraftsmanship defeated the forces of false refinement and

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shoddy manufacture. This book includes stunning color photographs and scholarly essays that explore Classical, Asian, Islamic, and Medieval influences, along with a special section on T.A.C. Colenbrander, an exceptional Dutch designer. Historians, collectors, and newcomers alike will enjoy this armchair voyage through a collection that has been twenty years in the making and continues to grow. Over 166 color illustrations.

Gareth Mason: OTHER FORCESPublished 2011, 100 pages, US $48This show brought Jason Jacques Gallery into the contemporary ceramics world with a bang; Mason's outrageous and innovative work has received academic, curatorial, and artistic acclaim. The show was overall a great

success. The catalog contains three essays, an in depth interview with the artist, and full page photos of Mason's

sumptuous ceramics.

Michael Geertsen: We Come in PeacePublished 2011, 72 pages, US $48Contemporary Danish ceramic artist Michael Geertsen is a virtuoso of the art of manipulating clay into dynamic wall sculptures and exciting free standing ceramic life forms glazed in bold primary colors. Michael joined the gallery as an internationally acclaimed veteran in the art world with an established reputation and impressive museum resume. This publication is the companion to the 2011 exhibition "We Come in Peace," at the Jason Jacques Gallery.

TEFAF Selection 2013Published 2013, 136 pagesThis is our inaugural full color 2013 TEFAF Selection including the best of the Art Nouveau and Japonist masterworks from the collection of Jim and Rose Ryan. With object descriptions by Claire Cass, Jason Jacques and Christopher T. Baker.

Eric Serritella: Walking With Softer StepsPublished 2013, 98 pages, US $48A full-color catalog featuring works from American ceramist Eric Serritella's solo exhibition Walking with Softer Steps, held at the Jason Jacques Gallery. Serritella describes his new work for the exhibition as an evolution towards the quieter side of trees and form. Serritella aims to create work that beautifully flows with rhythm and grace. Hidden within the overall form and the incredible level of realistic detail there is a subtle quietness. A flow. A rhythm. A peace.

Gareth Mason: More is MorePublished 2014, 262 pages, US $100Gareth Mason is an internationally recognized British ceramic master who communicates the range of human expression both in clay and words. Richard Jacobs is an eccentric and ancient Californian pottery collector and writer. His writing addresses the aesthetic, philosophical and cultural content of the artifact, employing the literature of the humanities in empowering and enlightening its nature. Their collaboration in the book, ‘More is More’, integrates the ordinarily estranged perspectives of artist and collector in a unique discourse.

Michael Geertsen: Still Life, Still LivesPublished 2014, 91 pages, US $48The artist and scholar Edmond de Waals described Michael Geertsen's work as always “questioning the place that ceramics has inhabited, as well as the place that ceramics will inhabit in the future.” Michael’s most recent catalog is a new innovation in reinterpreting the way that ceramics have been seen in the past, putting his ceramic sculptures in the context of a high fashion magazine.

To buy these publications please e-mail info@jasonjacques.com or send checks payable to Jason Jacques Inc. to 29 E. 73rd St. New York, NY 10021. Free shipping in the US.