Galle Overlaid and Acid Etched Vase 9.5

Galle Overlaid and Acid Etched Vase.

Cameo Scenic Vase, Overlaid and Acid Etched.

French. Circa 1900-1930.

Height: 9.5 in. tall Emile Galle

(Nancy, 8 May 1846 – Nancy, 23 September 1904) was a French artist who worked in glass, and is considered to be one of the major forces in the French Art Nouveau movement. Galle was the son of a faience and furniture manufacturer and studied philosophy, botany, and drawing in his youth. He later learned glassmaking at Meisenthal and came to work at his father’s factory in Nancy following the Franco-Prussian War. His early work was executed using clear glass decorated with enamel, but he soon turned to an original style featuring heavy, opaque glass carved or etched with plant motifs, often in two or more colours as cameo glass. He continued to incorporate experimental techniques into his work, such as metallic foils and air bubbles, and also revitalized the glass industry by establishing a workshop to mass-produce his, and other artists’, designs. The factory would employ 300 workers and artisans at its height, including the notable glassmaker Eugene Rosseau, and remained in operation until 1936. He became famous at the 1889 universal exhibition in Paris when he won a grand prix. This exhibition did not satisfied him anyway. He thought that this exhibition was not really looking to the future. He compared it to a general antique shop. His work was spread over 5 places all over the exhibition. He knew that he could not stay alone with the increasing concurrence of Germany and the US. In 1901, he created the ecole de Nancy in order to gather a critical size (both workers skills and fashion style) to resist to Paris and German influences. This school gathered artists, industrialists and teachers. Galle wanted industry to play the major role in this association.