Editorial Reviews

René Lalique : Exceptional Jewellery (1890 - 1912), by Y. Brunhammer and D. Sautot, Ed Skira, 9-½ inches x 11 inches ( 24 cm x 28 cm ), softcover book with 286 full color pages - English Edition

This is a large softcover book with 286 full color pages, very richly illustrated, that was published for the exhibition René Lalique, Exceptional Jewellery 1890 - 1912 during the Art Nouveau period that took place in Paris at the museum of Luxembourg.
This book is a look at Lalique's creative process through a selection of unusual works inluding glassware, paintings, jewellery and fashion designs that highlight both the technical and aesthetic aspects of his actual craft.
This book includes photographs taken by the artist, preparatory sketches and life-size studies, and the objects that inspired Lalique-as well as finished pieces of a period when he laid the foundations for his style Japanese Inrôs, combs, Sword guards from the Edo period as well as Japanese paintings.
The authors compare R. Lalique's work to that of his creative contemporaries and contextualize his work within the creative arts of the time.
They show how Lalique's creativity was situated among the arts, poetry, and literature of the day, and how he used other art forms to effect a stylistic renewal of jewellery that is still treasured.
With stunning images and authoritative essays, this monograph illuminates the full range of this ingenious craftsman.

Contents:

• The age of Lalique
• The Quest for Modern Jewellery
• Catalogue
• The Time of Jewellery
• The Time of Eclecticism - The Middle Ages
• The Time of Eclecticism - The Renaissance and Egypt
• A Working Method
• A Total Art
• René Lalique in the Calouste
• A Symbolist "Cosmogeny" of Woman
• Catalogue
• Metamorphosis and Transgression
• "Femmes Fatales" in Town and on the Stage
• Annette's Salad and Turner's Locomotive, a brief study of "Japonisme" in Literature
• Images of nature
• Catalogue, from Japan
• Japanese Inspiration
• Poetic Anthology
• Fauna of the Meadows and Fields
• 1900 - 1912
• Catalogue, The spirit of the Times
• The Paris Exposition of 1900
• Jewellery and Glassware: From Craftsmanship to Industry
• Chronology 1860 - 1945

The English texts are written by Yvonne Brunhammer and Dany Sautot.