|
Nancy 1846 - Nancy 1904
Manufacturer, master glassmaker, cabinet maker and ceramist
In 1867, after working as an apprentice in several different towns in Europe, Weimar and Meisenthal amongst others, Emile Gallé joined his father's Company in the glass decorating business and trading in faience and glassware.
Ten years later, he took over the family business and, in 1885, extended its activities to include cabinet making. Having already made a significant impact at the Earth and Glass Exhibition of 1884, he was awarded three prizes at the Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1889 for his ceramics, his glassware and his furniture. To his great regret, the ceramics did not prove popular with the public. He concentrated on glassware and invented a number of new manufacturing processes. His work came to fruition in 1898 with the registration of two patents, one concerning glass inlays, and the other applying a patina to glass.
His work, inspired by a number of different sources, shows the wide variety of his interests, with nature playing a dominant but not exclusive role. His patriotic and political beliefs were best illustrated by his contributions to the Paris Universal Exhibitions of 1889 and 1900, works such as a table " The Rhine " (demanding the return of Alsace-Lorraine to France), and spectacular installations such as " The Seven Marjolaine Pitchers " in favour of Dreyfus' rehabilitation.
Involved in the rebirth of the decorative arts from early in the movement, and thanks to the industrialisation of his production process, Emile Gallé was able to sell quality works produced in limited series through his depots in France, England and Germany.
In 1901, he founded, and became the first President of the Nancy School, " Alliance Provinciale des Industries d'Art ".
|
France (1846 - 1904)
