French Lamps

French Art Nouveau lamps

After the Exposition Universelle that took place in Paris in 1900, the capital started having a collective of artists that used the name La Société des aristes décorateurs. The famous Art Nouveau artist Hector Guimard (1867-1942), famous for the Parisian metro entrances, was one of the founders. The goal of the artists was to get international attention for the leading position and development of the French decorative arts. This went very well due to the artistic developments in Paris and Nancy. Especially when the light bulb was developed, there was a lot of focus on making artistic lamps of glass and people experimented a lot with types of glass, shapes and colours. In his birthplace of Nancy, glass artist and furniture designer Émile Gallé founded the École de Nancy, or the school of Nancy, in 1901. This group of artist let themselves be inspired by nature and created motifs of plants, flowers and insects like dragonflies and butterflies. The Gallé lamps of Art Deco Web Store show the curvilinear shape of the Art Nouveau style. The so-called marqueterie de verre, inlay of glass in glass combined with etching techniques, is stunning to look at. The sultry pâte de verre technique is also typical of Gallé’s work. At Art Deco Web Store, you can choose from various pâte de verre lamps that are only made in small batches. With the help of the activities of Émile Gallé, Nancy developed into an important centre of innovative architecture and applied arts. It was not long until the glass factory of the Daum Frères, which was founded in 1878, became world famous for its glass art. Elzasser Jean Daum founded a glass factory in Nancy in 1878 and also co-founded the groundbreaking School of Nancy. He decided to settle in Lorraine which is a region that is known for its historical tradition and their craftsmanship when it comes to the production of glass. From 1890, Daum started concentrating on creating art objects and new techniques were tested. Art Deco Web Store has various Daum lamps in their collection. They are made based on the original Daum moulds.

French Art Deco Lamps

After the First World War abruptly ended the Art Nouveau movement, optimism in the applied arts began to grow again in the 1920s. In 1925, at the ‘Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs et Industriëls Modernes’ in Paris and Art Deco was presented to an international audience for the first time. The new language of shapes with rich colours, geometrical figures and opulent decorations drew attention all over the world and was applied in the architecture and applied arts in the United States as well as other European countries. Applying monumental, geometrical shapes, based on African folk art and a logical consequence of the Geometrical Art Nouveau, is one of the most important features of Art Deco. French Art Deco lamps are known for their rich, mundane look and refined, geometrical motifs. They also usually have fan-shapes and are mostly made of etched or satinated glass. One of the most leading designers was jewellery designer and glass artist René Lalique (1860-1945), who is also seen as the master of the French Art Nouveau and Art Deco. The exclusive glass creations of Lalique symbolise the luxury from the Art Nouveau and Art Deco period. During the Roaring Twenties, Lalique also became famous in the Netherlands. Our royal couple even asked Lalique to design lamps for Palace Soestdijk. At Art Deco Web Store you can choose between various beautiful Lalique lamps. The designs of these lamps are based on original Lalique designs. At the ‘Exposition Internationale’ in 1925, glass artist Ernest-Marius Sabino (1878-1961) first presented his lighting fixtures. He had his own stand in the Parisian Grand Palais. The ‘skyscraper’ lamps of Sabino became famous all over the world and Art Deco Web Store is giving you the opportunity to purchase Sabino lamps based on the original models. Last but not least, the Müller-Freres also need to be mentioned. The Muller lamps have been the crown on the lighting collection of Art Deco Web Store for years. The Muller workshop was also founded near Nancy, after Henry Muller had been part of Émile Gallé’s workshop as a glass artist. Muller lamps are seen as both Art Nouveau and Art Deco. Have a look around in the category Lighting or search for the artists mentioned above with the help of the search area on the top right of this page to find spectacular French Art Nouveau lamps and French Art Deco lamps in Art Deco Web Store.

Image: wikipedia.org