The master of art nouveau ornamentation gets an airing at Macklowe Gallery in New York, in what is the largest stateside showcase for his jewelry in over twenty-five years.
Four Damselflies brooch and diadem by René Lalique (1860–1945), designed c. 1903–1904, this example 1905–1908. Diamonds, aquamarines, enamel, 18k gold; height 1 3⁄4, length 5 1⁄2 inches. All photographs courtesy of Macklowe Gallery, New York.
It seems that everyone has at least a passing acquaintance with the name René Lalique and is aware of his reputation as a renowned French jeweler and glass artist. But there is an enormous gulf between knowing the famous name and seeing—and knowing—Lalique’s extraordinary jewelry. Fortunately, Macklowe Gallery in New York is presenting a spectacular collection of the artist’s work, called “René Lalique: Collector’s Reserve,” which will continue through December. Some twenty ornaments by the great French master are on view—a quantity that hasn’t been seen together in this country since The Jewels of Lalique was mounted at the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum (now the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum) in 1998—which encompass a variety of motifs for which Lalique was known, such as the female figure, winged creatures, floral studies, and the animal world.
Dragonfly bracelet by Lalique, 1902–1903. Opals, aquamarines, enamel, 18k gold; height 1 3⁄4, length 8 1⁄4 inches.
The very notion of artistic jewelry begins with Lalique. Before his time, the principal purpose of elite jewelry in the West was to display costly, precious stones using hidden metal mounts. Gem-laden ornaments satisfied an affluent merchant and aristocratic clientele accustomed to wearing its wealth. Lalique eventually rejected this method in favor of an emphasis on color, material, and texture regardless of value, ushering in an era in which ivory, horn, semiprecious stones, glass, and enamel prevailed. Moreover, Lalique rejected the historical designs used by traditional jewelers, choosing a uniquely poetic and dreamy approach aligned with fellow art nouveau designers working in related mediums. As with George Ohr in ceramics, Lalique’s innovativeness and his refusal to privilege precious over non-precious materials marks him as a proto-modernist of international repute in the field of jewelry, and he remains influential even to this day.
Born in Aÿ-Champagne, some one hundred miles northeast of Paris, the artist grew up with a love for the flat countryside and wooded areas of his youth, as well as the abundant flora and fauna that would later inspire his jewelry. After the death of his father, the teenage Lalique was apprenticed to leading Parisian jeweler Louis Aucoc (1850–1932), who introduced him to the mysteries of the jeweler’s art. He also garnered an artistic education in modeling and etching while studying at the École des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, and at the Crystal Palace School of Art in Sydenham, London. Lalique was considered a fine draftsman and frequently produced drawings for sale and exhibition, garnering praise from Alphonse Fouquet (1828–1911), a pioneer of the Renaissance style of jewelry. After supplying jewelry to other French houses for a few years, he began to focus on his own designs in 1885, when Jules Destape engaged him to lead his shop. From that time onward, Lalique progressed in refining his own style, overseeing all aspects of the creative process and finding widespread praise.
Scarab necklace by Lalique, c. 1908–1910. 18k gold, molded glass; length 16 inches.
Lalique’s successes in Paris preceded him in the United States, where writers began to marvel at his creations. The American art historian Irene Sargent wrote and translated several articles for early issues of The Craftsman magazine, where she opined that his jewelry was even more original and innovative than that of his talented American peer Louis Comfort Tiffany.
Major collectors quickly found his work, scooping up examples whenever possible. The Armenian oil tycoon Calouste Gulbenkian was his most devoted patron, acquiring nearly two hundred ornaments, and Baltimore collector Henry Walters quietly acquired the entire collection that Lalique featured at the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis. It is worth noting that men
admired the exotic beauty, design, and technique found in Lalique’s jewelry, and were his most passionate collectors. Nevertheless, the startling originality of his adornments attracted women as well. These included public figures who enjoyed flaunting their taste for the avant-garde such as Alice Roosevelt, daughter of American president Theodore Roosevelt, and the French actress Sarah Bernhardt, for whom Lalique produced stage and personal jewelry.
Iris bracelet by Lalique, 1897. Opals, enamel, 18k gold; height 2, length 6 3⁄4 inches.
The exhibition at Macklowe Gallery offers a rare opportunity to examine Lalique’s designs, which demonstrate his love of watery blues and greens as expressed in enamel, opals, and aquamarines. His penchant for insect life is also evident, in examples that feature dragonflies as they stretch their wings across a bracelet, damselflies alighting beside a cool aquamarine pool, and others dancing, Busby Berkeley–style, across a tiara. Each demonstrates the jeweler’s eye for detail within complex compositions and stylized form. The same is true for his floral designs, which offer a graceful naturalism in line and movement, enhanced with nuanced enamel colors.
Grenouille necklace by Lalique, c. 1902–1903. Diamonds, 18k gold, glass, enamel; height 1, length 17 1⁄2 inches.
Lalique’s extensive work with opals yielded a number of works that explored the stone’s swirling and cloud-like attributes. A bracelet with a wave-like design features inky purple irises in champlevé enamel against a carved opal surround. Lalique’s interest in the natural world continued as he began to experiment with carved glass. Among the objects on view are a scarab necklace mounted in gold, a platinum brooch ornamented with diamonds and tiny carved mice, and an Aztec-inspired necklace of frogs, executed in opaque green glass and gold.
