RENÉ LALIQUE IN THE SPOTLIGHT

René Lalique, born in 1860 in Aÿ, Champagne, was one of the greatest master glass and jewellery makers of his time. Famous first for his jewelry, then for his perfume bottles, vases, tableware and car radiator caps, he left his mark on Art Nouveau and Art Deco with his unmistakable style.

After an apprenticeship with jeweler Louis Aucoc and two years' training in England, he launched his own jewelry business in 1885 and began exhibiting his work in 1894, notably at the Salon des artistes français in 1897 and 1898. Drawing his inspiration from the "3Fs" - fauna, flora and women - he designed jewelry recognized as the most representative of Art Nouveau. Innovating by combining materials hitherto little considered in jewelry, such as glass, enamel, horn, ivory and semi-precious stones, Emile Gallé called him "the inventor of modern jewelry". His avant-garde works met with great success, particularly at the 1900 Paris Exposition Universelle, and were prized by the intellectual elite.

Parallel to his work as a jeweler, René Lalique turned his attention to glass as an artistic material, to the point of making it his sole obsession. In 1898, he set up a glassmaking workshop on his Clairefontaine estate, where he perfected his blown-glass technique. After his triumph at the 1900 Exhibition, he opened a store on Place Vendôme in 1905. Following his meeting with perfumer François Coty in 1907, he set up his workshops in a glassworks in Combs-la-Ville in the early 1910s, where he produced a multitude of bottles for several renowned perfumers, then developed mass production of his works to make them accessible to the greatest number. Lalique's work in glass gave him the opportunity to take his art into a much wider sphere, and he was quick to express his desire to diversify his production.

From the 1920s onwards, René Lalique turned to Art Deco and followed in the footsteps of the industrialization of objets d'art.In 1921, he built a new factory in Wingen-sur-Moder, in the Vosges."La Verrerie d'Alsace", devoted to the production of industrial pieces, opted for the technique of pressed molded glass and specialized in tableware.Lalique created numerous objects: vases, plates, dishes, etc., all of which met with resounding success.The master glassmaker subtly played on the contrasts between translucent and frosted glass, sometimes tinted or opalescent, to create dynamics and lend an impression of volume and movement to his immobile figures. This is evidenced by the various vases, bowls and perfume bottles featured in our January 18 Decorative Arts sale. Lalique's works in glass, including car radiator caps and decorations for the Orient Express dining cars, made him one of the leading figures of Art Deco, which triumphed at the 1925 Exposition des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes in Paris.

Right up until his death in 1945, René Lalique was a champion of his time, leaving a considerable artistic legacy. Today, Lalique, the jewel in the crown of French crystal-making, perpetuates its know-how and passes on this exceptional mastery at its unique Wingen-sur-Moder factory, which continues to shine throughout the world today.

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