René Jules Lalique (1860-1945)

René Jules Lalique was one of the foremost designers of Art Nouveau and moderne jewelry and glass.  He began his career as a jewelry designer, establishing a workshop in 1885 and creating novel works in the latest styles.  In 1892, he began to incorporate glass, typically cast, into his jewelry designs.  After opening his first retail shop in 1905, he was commissioned by perfumer François Coty to design glass perfume bottles.  This initial foray into purely glass work was followed by designs for tableware and vases and, in 1911, Lalique held his first exhibition devoted entirely to the medium.  In the following years, Lalique turned increasingly to work in glass.  Lalique remained one of the most successful art factories of the inter-war era, but during the German occupation in France, Lalique’s firm was forced to close and remained closed until his death in 1945 when it was reopened by the family.  The most highly regarded Lalique glass remains that from the interwar period.

Kevin W. Tucker, The Margot B. Perot Curator of Decorative Arts and Design, DMA acquisition justification (2011.24), TMS data (May 18, 2011)

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By Aaron Gerschel [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

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