Art Nouveau - Emile Gallé

Art Nouveau appeared around 1890 and was a decorative art. It gave importance to the imagination and fantasy. It was influenced by: Japanese prints, ancient Celtic designs and based on stylized fluid lines. It was the first style to be marketed aggressively and internationally. Its main influence was on the applied arts - ironwork, furniture design, glassware and posters.

Emile Galle is a French designer which was born in Nancy, France in 1846. His family had practically glass making in their life because they owned a glass and earthenware factory which was known as Maison Galle-Reinemer in 1844. His father, which was born in 1818 and died in 1902, was a travelling porcelain tradesman while the parent of his mother, owned a crystal and porcelain shop in Nancy. Galle concentrated on studies of nature which is why I chose him in the era. His motto was "my roots are in wood" which shows the affection he had for nature. In his late teens he collected different types of plants from the countryside of Lorraine and used them for his research. He produced astonishing pieces of art which show very much detail and are very inspirational.

In one of his examples, "The Umbellifer" plant reflects Galle's thoughts that the decor and the shape of the product should be part of the same aim, thus known as "the unity of the art". 

He had three activities which were: Wood making, Ceramic making and Glass making. He grew up surrounded by a family who produced glass making mainly so this had a great importance in his life. Galle used to have a nickname, which his friend, Roger Marx, gave him. It was: Homo Triplex. He became more and more professional at glass making through his life. He increased his techniques and his creations were massive. 

Some of his porcelain and glass making:

References:

Naturalistic Spoon, 2009, 'Emile Galle (1846-1904)' [ONLINE] Available at: http://naturalisticspoon.com/Emile_Galle.html [Accessed at: 7 January 2014]