Déco Lalique: Exhibit Review
French Art Déco glass by René Lalique at the Royal Ontario Museum
Artist, designer and jeweler... René Lalique also created significant Art Déco glassware. This reviews an exhibit of work by Lalique, his heirs, admirers and imitators.
René Lalique (b.1860 – d.1945) is considered to be one of the few artists who made the transition from the mannered, self-consciously opulent and sinuous Art Nouveau (1880’s – 1900’s) aesthetic to the sweeping, modern and elegant functionality of Art Deco (1910 – 1940).
A successful artist, designer and jeweler by the time he began to explore glass in 1902, Lalique created pieces that inspired artists and drew imitators from his native France, the US and Bohemia (now part of the Czech Republic).
Little surprise then that Canada’s Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) is devoting an entire exhibit to his vases, centerpieces, glassware, lighting, jewellery, perfume bottles, small sculptures and ornaments. Over 60 pieces of Lalique’s popular Art Deco designs are displayed together with post-war designs by his son and grand-daughter, as well as rivals and imitators.
Featuring press-moulded opalescent glass with low relief motifs drawn from nature, the human figure, Greek classical mythology and the exotic, Lalique’s designs often took advantage of the anatomy of a piece, sometimes to stunning effect.
His 1922 Telline (clam) perfume bottle looks like an icy quahog that has been delicately stood on its umbo. Neatly etched ripples add to the luminosity of the bottle which is topped by a pinched glass stopper with a radial motif. It’s both simple and attractive.
Similarly, the Volubis (Convovulus) bowl is an understated statement of simple elegance using the fluid quality of glass itself. Each of the feet of this shallow pale yellow three-footed bowl forms the stem of a bloom whose petals seamlessly melt into the petals of the other two blooms to form the bowl. Originally designed in 1929, it was popular into the 1950s and continues to inspire imitators.
In contrast, the 1921 amber-coloured Archers vase is an artful riot of cranes circling its shoulder being pursued by lithe archers further down on its body. From above, one can see cranes circling around the vase’s neck with the entire scene visible only when viewed from the side. This decision accents the form of the vase and avoids the over decorated look of an interlocking all-over design.
Other noteworthy pieces include the powerfully etched lead crystal Tourbillons (whirlpool or whirlwind) vase from 1926, the interlocking Coquilles (shells) bowl and plate from 1924, the restrained 1924 Ceylan (Sri Lanka) Vase and the 1923 Martin-Pecheurs (kingfishers) vase which looks like etched black rock.
Designs by Lalique’s imitators, and even those of his heirs at Cristal Lalique, while attractive, often lack his precision and mastery of both material and design. With their offerings, the glass form seems almost built to show off the design or accents, rather than integrating all elements so form and motif are seamlessly unified in each piece.
Nonetheless, the exhibit lends insight into the early years of modern glass design.
Déco Lalique runs to March 18, 2007 in Toronto, Canada. Details available at the ROM site.
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