René Lalique Art Nouveau Jewelry - Part 2

 As some of you may know, my husband and I spent a week in Lisbon, Portugal in November.  We visited a wonderful museum there, which includes an amazing collection of works by the famed Art Nouveau jewelry and glass artist,  René Lalique.  I included some photos and information about René Lalique in a previous post.  Today, I'll add more photos and information about Lalique's life and work.

I have been intrigued with Art Nouveau design, ever since I met my then husband-to-be in 1970. He was an exchange student to my high school, from Darmstadt, Germany. Darmstadt is a mid-sized city near Frankfurt, that is home to many outstanding Art Nouveau homes, buildings and sculptures. 

Art Nouveau door in Darmstadt, Germany. Built in 1901.

René Lalique began working as an apprentice jeweler and goldsmith in 1876.  He also took evening jewelry classes and within a few years, he moved to London to continue his studies.

Check out the hinges that connect the grasshopper's legs!

During this formative period, Lalique cultivated his graphic design skills, and developed a unique and naturalistic style that later became his trademark as a jeweler.

In 1880, Lalique returned to Paris and started work as a freelance jeweler and jewelry illustrator.  In 1885 he took over a well known jewelry workshop where he began to build a reputation for his unique jewelry designs.

 His innovations included the use of less expensive elements, such as  translucent enamels, semiprecious stones, ivory and hard stones.

In time, Lalique began to incorporate glass into his jewelry in the form of cast pates-de-verre. Starting in 1893 Lalique began winning numerous jewelry design awards.

 He designed stage jewelry for the actress Sarah Bernhardt. He also created pieces for Siegfried Bing's Maison de l'Art Nouveau, the Paris shop that gave its name to the Art Nouveau movement.

In 1900, at a Paris exhibition, Lalique became known as the founder of a new school of modern jewelry design and was awarded Legion of Honor's Croix de Chevalier.

Lalique went on to design everything from vases to car mascots to statues and church windows.  To say he was prolific is clearly an understatement!

In 1935 Lalique opened a boutique, in Paris, that continues to serve as the main Lalique showroom today.  René Lalique died on May 5, 1945, at the age of 85.

I also took pictures of some of Lalique's vases and home decor items.  I will be posting them on my personal blog tomorrow.  I invite you to visit Linda's Bead Blog & Meanderings to see the rest of my Lalique pictures.

Linda
Linda Landig Jewelry – ArtFire 

Linda Landig Jewelry – Etsy

Rene Lalique Jewelry - Lisbon, Portugal

As I mentioned in my last post, my husband and I have recently returned from Lisbon, Portugal.  One of the most memorable parts of our trip was a visit to the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum.  While we loved seeing the paintings by Rubens, Rembrandt, Rousseau, Manet, Dégas, Renoir and Monet, the highlight, for me, was a permanent collection of works by René Lalique (1860-1945). 

Lalique was an extraordinarily prolific and talented French designer, known for his Art Nouveau and Art Deco designs in glass, enamel, jewelry and home decor. Wikipedia states that his name became "synonymous with creativity, beauty and quality".  I pretty much have a major jewelry crush on the man and I'll try to show you why today.

My husband and I took a couple hundred pictures of the Lalique Collection.  So far I've only sorted through about a third of them.  So this will just give you a taste of the scope of the collection.  Perhaps I'll do another post as I finish sorting through the rest of the pictures.

Lalique's works were inspired primarily by what were called The Three Fs: Female (form), Fauna and Flora.

 A careful observer of nature, many of Lalique's works include plants and a variety of animals.

Woodland Scene

He did not consider any animals to be repulsive or out of bounds: snakes, parrots, grasshoppers and beetles are found in both his glass-works and in his jewelry.

Owls

I love the swirl of the peacock's tail (see close up in center picture).  The last picture is a drawing Lalique did in planning this piece.

Check out the size of the amethyst in the cockerel's mouth!

This amazing Serpent Pectorial was originally worn with with a strand of pearls draped from each serpent head

Lalique was also inspired by the female form. Much of his work, including his flora and fauna, exhibit the voluptuous curves associated with a woman's body.

Take a look at that mammoth baroque pearl on the left!  Wow!

 The artist pictured women as being gentle and mysterious.  His work featured graceful female nudes whose highly stylized curling hair often swirls sensuously around the object, becoming a design component itself. It is those flowing, graceful, and often asymmetrical lines that so draw me to his work. 

 

I hope you have enjoyed this little tour.  I look forward to sharing more with you later.

Linda

Linda Landig Jewelry - ArtFire 

Linda Landig Jewelry - Etsy