sign in sign up
<<
Home , American art pottery, Art pottery, Auguste Delaherche, Ernest Chaplet

Making Art: The Robert A. Ellison Collection of French Ceramics (ca. 1880-1910) Special Exhibition, February 4, 2014—March 15, 2015*, Gallery 521

Organized by Elizabeth Sullivan, research associate, with the support of Jeffrey Munger, curator, department of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

French Determined that pottery vessels should be regarded as true works of art avant-garde ceramicists in France in the last decades of the nineteenth century transformed their craft into an intellectual and emotional endeavor. The pioneers of this revival were Jean Carries, , Theodore Deck, and . These revolutionary artist-potters embraced artisanal traditions while pursuing lost techniques through exhaustive experimentation. Reacting to what they viewed as an excessive and improper use of ornament, they celebrated the simplicity and sincerity of their medium, following the tenets of the style taking place in Europe. Based on the principles of the British , Art Nouveau artists sought to reform the decorative arts by emphasizing uniqueness and a return to craftsmanship. Artist-potters found inspiration in Asian ceramics, particularly Japanese (a hard, dense type of pottery), which was shown in 1878 at the Exposition Universelle in Paris, as well as in the forms, glazes, and techniques of Chinese and pottery. They also looked to European traditions such as the rustic salt-glazed stoneware of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and Gothic sculpture and architecture. In the process they created works of that were entirely modern and new.

The Robert A. Ellison Jr. Collection of European Art Pottery Robert Ellison has been collecting pottery since the 1960s. Mr. Ellison has sought the highest-quality examples—typically on a monumental scale—by the greatest artist-potters of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to tell the narrative of the art pottery movement in Europe, especially France. In 2009 Mr. Ellison's collection of , consisting of more than three hundred works, was presented as a promised gift to The American Wing. In June of last year the Metropolitan Museum acquired seventy-six examples of European art pottery from the Robert A. Ellison Jr. collection, fifty-four of which were generously donated. These Continental and British ceramics, dating from 1867 to the 1930s, were acquired jointly by the departments of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts and Modern and . The arrival of the Ellison collection of European pottery represents another ceramics milestone in the Museum's history. This exhibition highlights French ceramics from the collection made at the turn of the twentieth century. Comparative works, including Asian ceramics, are featured to illustrate sources of inspiration.

*extended; original close date August 18, 2014 Exhibition Checklist

Vase with four green handles Auguste Delaherche (French, 1857-1940) French (Paris), ca. 1889 Stoneware Robert A. Ellison Jr. Collection, Purchase, Acquisitions Fund; Louis V. Bell, Harris Brisbane Dick, Fletcher, and Rogers Funds and Joseph Pulitzer Bequest; and 2011 Benefit Fund, 2013 (2013.487) Delaherche's experiments with Asian-inspired glazes and firing techniques enabled him to produce a range of colors and effects. The drip effect may look accidental, but it was the result of planning and skill. Delaherche was a perfectionist who abandoned any technique with results that could not be predicted or reproduced. He believed that anything achieved entirely by chance, no matter how beautiful, was not true art.

Vase with peacock feathers Auguste Delaherche (French, 1857-1940) French (Paris), ca. 1889 Stoneware Robert A. Ellison Jr. Collection, Purchase, Acquisitions Fund; Louis V. Bell, Harris Brisbane Dick, Fletcher, and Rogers Funds and Joseph Pulitzer Bequest; and 2011 Benefit Fund, 2013 (2013.483) Although Delaherche would later denounce the use of ornament, he frequently used decorative motifs with feathers or floral patterns early in his career. Favored for their iridescence and exoticism, peacock feathers were a popular Art Nouveau motif, appearing on Tiffany glass and other decorative arts. Two examples of this vase were shown in Delaherche's display at the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1889, where he won a gold medal.

Low vase with handles Auguste Delaherche (French, 1857-1940) French (Armentières), ca. 1900 Stoneware Gift of Robert A. Ellison Jr., 2013 (2013.245.1) In 1894 Delaherche left Paris for Armentières, near his native Beauvais in northern France, where he focused on simple robust forms and specialized in monochrome glazes. This pot is typical of his later work, in which he abandoned nearly all ornament, explaining, "It only hides the form." Tall vase Auguste Delaherche (French, 1857-1940) French (Paris), ca. 1893-94 Stoneware Robert A. Ellison Jr. Collection, Purchase, Acquisitions Fund; Louis V. Bell, Harris Brisbane Dick, Fletcher, and Rogers Funds and Joseph Pulitzer Bequest; and 2011 Benefit Fund, 2013 (2013.485) Delaherche elongated the shape of a traditional vase and added subtle yellow and purple streaks to the saturated red glaze based on Chinese oxblood (sang de boeuf). Such artistic nuances made him a favorite of critics and connoisseurs. One writer explained, "To possess in one's collection one of Delaherche's Grès Flambés is to proclaim one-self one of the cognoscenti of modern ceramic art." This vase is one of only twelve examples of this model, recorded in Delaherche's sketchbook on May 3,1893.

Standing cup with cover Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory (French, 1740-present) French (Sèvres), 1879 Hard-paste porcelain Purchase, Friends of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts Gifts, 1990 (1990.238a, b) At the end of the nineteenth century, convinced that ornament should be appropriate to form and material, advocates of criticized revivalist pottery as uninspired and pretentious. Imitation and love of display were cited as roadblocks to progress in the potter's art. Made in a -revival style, this cup was an official presentation piece for the winner of first prize at the Exposition Universelle of 1878. Of the disdained French national manufactory at Sèvres, one critic wrote, "The colors are insipid and often vulgar; the decoration rarely quits the beaten track of the usual Sèvres flower and figure subjects. Sèvres is lingering in the traditions of [the past]. It remains deaf to the fame of living and ." Vase des bin el I es Hector Guimard (French, 1867-1942) Sevres Manufactory (French, 1740-p resent) French (Sèvres), 1903 Stoneware Robert A. Ellison Jr. Collection, Purchase, 2011 Benefit Fund, 2013 (2013.502) This vase is an extraordinary feat of Art Nouveau ceramics by the French architect Hector Guimard, who designed the iconic Paris Metro entrances. Monumental in scale, the vase des binelies has an architectural presence and a strong organic form, and its curvilinear handles are evocative of the ornate cast-iron elements of Guimard's buildings. The specialized crystalline glaze, developed at the end of the nineteenth century, features iridescent crystal particles that create a sparkling effect. Only five examples of this model were made.

Sculptural bowl Clément Massier (French, ca. 1845-1917) James Vibert (Swiss, 1872-1942) French (Golfe Juan), 1900 Stoneware Robert A. Ellison Jr. Collection, Purchase, 2011 Benefit Fund, 2013 (2013.503) Massier specialized in pottery with a metallic iridescent glaze inspired by medieval Spanish lusterware. This bowl is the product of his collaboration with the Swiss Symbolist sculptor Vibert. The iridescent effect of Massier's luster glaze works in harmony with the sculptural imagery, creating an otherworldly sea-like environment for Vibert's water nymphs.

Vase with face Pierre-Adrien Dalpayrat (French, 1844-1910) Alphonse Voisin-Delacroix (Swiss, 1857-1893) French (Bourg-la-Reine), 1892-93 Stoneware Robert A. Ellison Jr. Collection, Purchase, Acquisitions Fund; Louis V. Bell, Harris Brisbane Dick, Fletcher, and Rogers Funds and Joseph Pulitzer Bequest; and 2011 Benefit Fund, 2013 (2013.481) Emerging from the globular body of this vase is the face of a sleeping woman. Dalpayrat collaborated with the sculptor Voisin-Delacroix on a number of pieces, mainly small models. This large-scale vase is one of their most ambitious works. Voisin-Delacroix was associated with the Symbolist movement, and this piece—with the hidden sleeping face- relates to Symbolist themes associated with dreaming. Dalpayrat's streaky glaze in white, blue, yellow, and copper- red adds to the dreamlike effect. Bowl with panthers Pierre-Adrien Dalpayrat (French, 1844-1910) French (Bourg-la-Reine), 1894-95 Stoneware Robert A. Ellison Jr. Collection, Purchase, Acquisitions Fund; Louis V. Bell, Harris Brisbane Dick, Fletcher, and Rogers Funds and Joseph Pulitzer Bequest; and 2011 Benefit Fund, 2013 (2013.482) This bowl reveals two key traits of Dalpayrat's work: sculptural vigor and experimental glazes. The panthers appear to climb around the bowl, poised and ready to pounce, and the glaze is an example of the famous "Dalpayrat red," a distinctive copper-red glaze mottled with streaks of blue, green, and yellow.

Square Vase Ernest Chaplet (French, 1835-1909) French (Choisy-le-Roi), ca. 1889 Porcelain Robert A. Ellison Jr. Collection, Purchase, The Isaacson- Draper Foundation Gift, 2013 (2013.477) Chaplet became well known for his Chinese-inspired forms and colored glazes. In the 1880s he learned how to make the desirable but technically difficult oxblood (sang de boeuf) glaze, for which he won the gold medal at the 1889 Exposition Universelle in Paris.

Vase in the shape of a winter melon China, Qing dynasty (1644-1911), mid-19th century Porcelain with splashed copper-red glaze (Jingdezhen ware) H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929 (29.100.323) The copper-red glaze and simple shape of this Qing-dynasty vase would have appealed to Ernest Chaplet who in 1887 moved to Choisy-le-Roi to devote himself to the production of Chinese-inspired . Vase Ernest Chaplet (French, 1835-1909) French (Choisy-le-Roi), ca. 1891 Porcelain Robert A. Ellison Jr. Collection, Purchase, Acquisitions Fund; Louis V. Bell, Harris Brisbane Dick, Fletcher, and Rogers Funds and Joseph Pulitzer Bequest; and 2011 Benefit Fund, 2013 (2013.480) Creating a marbled glaze required an extensive knowledge of chemical reactions and firing temperatures. Chaplet's exhaustive experiments in the kiln would cost him dearly—a firing accident led to his eventual blindness, ending his career as a potter. In despair, he destroyed all his notebooks containing his secret techniques.

Vase China, Qing dynasty (1644-1911), mid-19th century Porcelain with splashed, painted, and crackled glazes (Jingdezhen ware) Purchase by subscription, 1879 (79.2.953) The purple-splashed glaze of this Chinese vase is strikingly similar to Chaplet's work and was made only slightly earlier.

Bottle vase Ernest Chaplet (French, 1835-1909) French (Choisy-le-Roi), ca. 1890 Porcelain Robert A. Ellison Jr. Collection, Purchase, Acquisitions Fund; Louis V. Bell, Harris Brisbane Dick, Fletcher, and Rogers Funds and Joseph Pulitzer Bequest; and 2011 Benefit Fund, 2013 (2013.478) This bottle vase is decorated with a flambé glaze, a mixture of deep copper red and turquoise blue. The technique, known in China for centuries, was emulated in the nineteenth century by potters led by Chaplet. It involved the oxidation of copper in the kiln (reduced oxygen to create red; increased oxygen for blue). One critic wrote, "M. Chaplet, who, after thirty years of special study, also seems to have gained absolute control over his capricious materials, so that, apparently at will, he can, on a single piece, obtain the most unexpected and diverse effects of color." Monumental vase Ernest Chaplet (French, 1835-1909) French (Choisy-le-Roi), ca. 1890 Porcelain Robert A. Ellison Jr. Collection, Purchase, Acquisitions Fund; Louis V. Bell, Harris Brisbane Dick, Fletcher, and Rogers Funds and Joseph Pulitzer Bequest; and 2011 Benefit Fund, 2013 (2013.479) The massive scale of this vase represents a technical feat, even for a master like Chaplet. Firing porcelain this large posed many challenges, as evidenced by the firing crack and sloped profile where the clay sagged in the kiln. While many of his contemporaries worked almost exclusively in stoneware, Chaplet focused on porcelain, a material that required a much higher firing temperature.

Vase with rooster Ernest Chaplet (French, 1835-1909) Haviland & Co. (American and French, 1864-1931) Decorator: Édouard-Alexandre Dammouse (French, 1850- 1903) French (Paris), ca. 1884 Stoneware Robert A. Ellison Jr. Collection, Purchase, Acquisitions Fund; Louis V. Bell, Harris Brisbane Dick, Fletcher, and Rogers Funds and Joseph Pulitzer Bequest; and 2011 Benefit Fund, 2013 (2013.473) This vase is a monumental example of the brown stoneware Chaplet produced for Haviland in the 1880s. Inspired by rustic European folk pottery, these pieces often incorporated traditional themes of country life. The rooster on this vase is a Gallic cockerel, a national emblem of France. Chaplet at Haviland & Co.: Brown Stoneware (1882-86) Ernest Chaplet (French, 1835-1909) worked for the Haviland firm from 1874 to 1886 and was the artistic director from 1881 to 1886. The and tankards in this section are typical of brown stoneware produced at Haviland under Chaplet's supervision between 1882 and 1886, with decoration by other artists. The shapes and motifs are inspired by local "peasant" pottery and work in harmony with the rugged quality of the stoneware.

Vase Haviland &. Co. (American and French, 1864-1931) French (Paris), ca. 1885 Stoneware Robert A. Ellison Jr. Collection, Purchase, Acquisitions Fund; Louis V. Bell, Harris Brisbane Dick, Fletcher, and Rogers Funds and Joseph Pulitzer Bequest; and 2011 Benefit Fund, 2013 (2013.474) The cylindrical shape, rough texture, and agricultural theme were inspired by folk pottery fro m Normandy. The abstract rendering of the woman, with strong incised outlines, makes the piece feel modern. The subject matter of the reaper was popular among some Impressionist painters.

Pair of tankards Haviland &. Co. (American and French, 1864-1931) French (Paris), ca. 1885 Stoneware Robert A. Ellison Jr. Collection, Purchase, Acquisitions Fund; Louis V. Bell, Harris Brisbane Dick, Fletcher, and Rogers Funds and Joseph Pulitzer Bequest; and 2011 Benefit Fund, 2013 (2013.475, .476) These vessels recall sixteenth-century German salt-glazed stoneware tankards and flagons. However, the flat style of the decoration and the unmodulated use of color, particularly for the boy's skin, are novel to the nineteenth century. Vase Haviland & Co. (American and French, 1864-1931) Decoration possibly by Albert-Louis Dammouse (French, 1848-1926) French (Paris), 1882-86 Stoneware Gift of George Haviland, 1923 (23.31.1) In the 1870s and 1880s while working at Haviland, Chaplet, like his contemporaries, became interested in Asian ceramics. Although this vase bears Chinese and Japanese motifs, the overall aesthetic relates more to Chaplet's brown stoneware tankards than to his later Chinese-style monochrome porcelains. George Haviland, grandson of the founder of the Haviland & Co., donated this piece to the Museum in 1923.

Vessel (French, 1848-1903) French (Paris), ca. 1887-89 Stoneware Robert A. Ellison Jr. Collection, Purchase, Acquisitions Fund; Louis V. Bell, Harris Brisbane Dick, Fletcher, and Rogers Funds and Joseph Pulitzer Bequest; and 2011 Benefit Fund, 2013 (2013.471) Gauguin made about one hundred ceramic vessels (about sixty survive) in which he explored the expressive qualities of the medium. He began making pottery in 1886 after meeting Ernest Chaplet, with whom he collaborated on his earliest pieces. Gauguin soon developed his own technique, sculpting the clay by hand without the use of a potter's wheel. Unconventional shapes and a rough "primitive" appearance characterize his brown stoneware. The sloped, asymmetrical profile of this vase is representative of his approach. Gauguin could have developed the imagery of the woman and a goat during his sojourns in Brittany and Martinique. Vase with mythological scenes Maker: Joseph-Théodore Deck (French, 1823-1891) Decorator: Auguste-Alexandre Hirsch (French, 1833-1912) French (Paris), 1867 Robert A. Ellison Jr. Collection, Gift of Robert A. Ellison Jr., 2013 (2013.239.14) Artist-potters associated with Art Nouveau condemned historical revivalism. Ceramicists were not, however, opposed to utilizing Neoclassical forms and themes, as long as they were modernized. Here Deck updates the shape of a Greek column-krater with a bright color palette that is purely nineteenth-century in style. Column-krater (deep bowl) Attributed to an artist near the Maplewood Painter Greek, South Italian, Apulian, ca. 365-345 b.c. Terracotta Purchase by subscription, 1896 (96.18.28) Although practitioners of Art Nouveau spoke out against revivalism, certain periods of history—namely, the medieval and the classical—still provided sources of inspiration. This column-krater from the fourth-century b.c. documents the degree to which classical prototypes were reinterpreted by late nineteenth-century art-potters.

Large dish with birds Maker: Joseph-Théodore Deck (French, 1823-1891) Decorator: Ernest Carrière (French, 1858-1908) French (Paris), ca. 1885-90 Earthenware Robert A. Ellison Jr. Collection, Gift of Robert A. Ellison Jr., 2013 (2013.239.15) This large dish was decorated by Ernest Carrière, a painter and ceramicist who worked in Deck's studio. He was the brother of the Symbolist painter Eugène Carrière. The eerie aura of this scene may reflect the mystical otherworldly nature of . The dramatic effect is highlighted by the striking contrast between the black clouds and the moonlit sky in Deck's famous blue glaze.

Dish with Iznik-style decoration Maker: Joseph-Théodore Deck (French, 1823-1891) French (Paris), ca. 1870 Earthenware Purchase, Anonymous Gift and funds from various donors, 1985 (1985.225) The decoration of this dish is derived from Turkish ceramics made in the town of Iznik between the fifteenth and the seventeenth centuries. Iznik ceramics were an important source of inspiration for Deck, who studied them at the Musée de Cluny in Paris, which opened to the public in 1843. Although Deck borrowed Iznik colors and motifs, he did not make exact replicas of their designs. Instead he loosely adapted motifs, creating designs of his own invention, typically in a more symmetrical pattern than Turkish prototypes.

10 "Bleu de Deck" bowl Maker: Joseph-Théodore Deck (French, 1823-1891) French (Paris), ca. 1870-80 Earthenware Gift of Mrs. Alice Stern, 1993 (1993.313) In 1859 Deck invented the turquoise glaze that came to be known as "bleu de Deck," first applying it to his Iznik-inspired pottery. He eventually used it to emulate Chinese monochrome wares, making the turquoise glaze itself the primary focus. This bowl also features Chinese-inspired relief decoration in the form of dragons.

Vase with dragon handles Qing dynasty (1644-1911) Chinese, first half of the 19th century Porcelain with blue glaze (Jingdezhen ware) Purchase by subscription, 1879 (79.2.111) This Qing vase features the type of blue glaze that Deck sought to re-create in his studio. The monochrome aesthetic of Chinese ceramics, particularly those of the Song and the Qing dynasties, was greatly admired by French art-potters of the late nineteenth century.

Vase with flowers Albert-Louis Dammouse (French, 1848-1926) French (Paris or Sèvres), ca. 1890-95 Stoneware Robert A. Ellison Jr. Collection, Gift of Robert A. Ellison Jr., 2013 (2013.239.13) The Dammouse brothers specialized in stylized floral motifs in the manner of Japanese prints. Their delicately drawn flowers were filled in with polychrome colors in low relief, sometimes outlined in gold. After years of working for others at various factories, the ceramicist Albert-Louis Dammouse and his painter brother Edouard-Alexandre opened their own workshop in Sèvres, where they focused on artistic pottery, porcelain, and glass.

11 Pair of vases Édouard-Alexandre Dammouse (French, 1850-1903) Haviland &. Co. (American and French, 1864-1931) French (Paris), ca. 1882-86 Stoneware Gift of George Haviland, 1923 (23.31.12, .13)

Folding fan remounted as hanging scroll Follower of Ogata Ko'rin (Japanese, 1658-1716) Japan, Edo period (1615-1868), early 18th century Ink and color on paper The Harry G. C. Packard Collection of Asian Art, Gift of Harry G. C. Packard, and Purchase, Fletcher, Rogers, Harris Brisbane Dick, and Louis V. Bell Funds, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, and The Annenberg Fund Inc. Gift, 1975 (1975.268.64) This type of Japanese hanging scroll, mounted with a fan depicting Chinese bellflowers, was available in France in the nineteenth century. Following the reopening of Japanese trading ports in 1854, fans, prints, hanging scrolls, kimonos, and screens flooded the European market, fueling the taste for —a term referring to the Japanese influence on French art in the late nineteenth century.

Vase Georges Hoentschel (French, 1855-1915) French (Saint-Amand-en-Puisaye), ca. 1890-1900 Stoneware Purchase, The Charles E. Sampson Memorial Fund and Friends of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts Gifts, 2011 (2011.34) Hoentschel was an interior decorator and a collector of medieval and eighteenth-century decorative art. Like his close friend Jean Carries, he designed Art Nouveau ceramics and was the architect of the pavilion of the Union Centrale des Arts Décoratifs at the 1900 Paris Exposition Universelle. This stoneware vase features an architectural framework that adds visual contrast to the naturalistically carved floral decoration.

12 Basket vase Georges Hoentschel (French, 1855-1915) French (Saint-Amand-en-Puisaye), ca. 1900 Stoneware Robert A. Ellison Jr. Collection, Purchase, Acquisitions Fund; Louis V. Bell, Harris Brisbane Dick, Fletcher, and Rogers Funds and Joseph Pulitzer Bequest; and 2011 Benefit Fund, 2013 (2013.491) The imaginative four-handled form of this vase resembles the pronged shape of a vajra, a Buddhist ritual implement. Hoentschel frequently used mottled green glazes that bring to mind the patina of oxidized bronze or copper. It is unclear how involved Hoentschel was in the production process of ceramics; his role probably was similar to that of an artistic director.

Buddhist ritual implement {vajra) China, Tang dynasty (618-909), 9th-10th century Gilt bronze Charlotte C. and John C. Weber Collection, Gift of Charlotte C. and John C.Weber, 1994 (1994.605.43) The outstretched handles of Hoentschel's basket vase recall the prongs of the Buddhist vajra.

Gourd vase Jean-Joseph Carries (French, 1855-1894) French (Saint-Amand-en-Puisaye), ca. 1890 Stoneware Robert A. Ellison Jr. Collection, Purchase, Acquisitions Fund; Louis V. Bell, Harris Brisbane Dick, Fletcher, and Rogers Funds and Joseph Pulitzer Bequest; and 2011 Benefit Fund, 2013 (2013.488) The earth tones and the natural aesthetic of the freely applied glazes, which drip down the sides of these two vases, reveal a Japanese influence. When Japanese stoneware was exhibited in Paris in 1878 it caused a sensation among critics and ceramicists. French art-potters such as Carries valued the roughness of Japanese pots, a welcome contrast to the machine-like perfection of ceramics being produced in France at the time.

13 Vase Jean-Joseph Carries (French, 1855-1894) French (Saint-Amand-en-Puisaye), ca. 1889-94 Stoneware The Charles E. Sampson Memorial Fund, 2006 (2006.83)

Gourd-shaped tea caddy Japan, Edo period (1615-1868), 18th century Stoneware with iron, rice-straw-ash, and wood-ash glazes (Takatori ware) Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Colman, 1893 (93.1.155a, b) The rustic aesthetic of Japanese stoneware appealed to French art-potters, who emulated their organic forms and irregular matte glazes. Reacting against industrial production, Carries and others advocated a return to the traditional craftsmanship embodied by handmade Japanese wares. Closed to foreign trade for more than two hundred years, Japan opened its ports in 1854 and Japanese works of art became highly sought after by European collectors. Japanese stoneware began to appear in exhibitions in Europe in the 1870s, notably the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1878.

Flask with face Jean-Joseph Carries (French, 1855-1894) French (Saint-Amand-en-Puisaye), ca. 1890 Glazed stoneware Robert A. Ellison Jr. Collection, Purchase, Acquisitions Fund; Louis V. Bell, Harris Brisbane Dick, Fletcher, and Rogers Funds and Joseph Pulitzer Bequest; and 2011 Benefit Fund, 2013 (2013.489) The grimacing face reveals the artist's gifts as a sculptor—his profession before becoming a ceramicist. Carries made an important series of masks, inspired by Japanese Noh theater and the gargoyles and carved faces on Gothic church architecture. His stoneware flasks with faces are an offshoot of this production. The bearded face as a motif on a water jug has its origins in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century German stoneware vessels known as Beardman or Bellarmine jugs.

14 Beardman or Bellarmine jug German (Cologne), 17th century Salt-glazed stoneware Rogers Fund, 1908 (08.56.1) The motif of a bearded face is carved in low relief at the neck of this jug. Known as Beardman or Bellarmine jugs, these stoneware vessels were made in Cologne and the Rhineland beginning in the sixteenth century.

Le Grenouillard {The Frog Man) Jean-Joseph Carries (French, 1855-1894) French (Saint-Amand-en-Puisaye), ca. 1891 Stoneware Robert A. Ellison Jr. Collection, Purchase, Acquisitions Fund; Louis V. Bell, Harris Brisbane Dick, Fletcher, and Rogers Funds and Joseph Pulitzer Bequest; and 2011 Benefit Fund, 2013 (2013.490) Carries was fascinated by frogs, which appear in several examples of his work. Le Grenouillard is his fantastical sculpture of a half-man, ha If-frog sitting among a family of smaller frogs. It recalls the gargoyles of Gothic cathedrals while also resembling a large-scale version of the whimsical Japanese carved sculpture known as netsuke. Carries may have known the Japanese legend of Gama Sennin (frog sage), an Immortal who often took the form of his companion, a large toad.

Netsuke of Gama Sennin Japan, Edo period (1615-1868), late 18th-early 19th century Ivory Gift of Mrs. Russell Sage, 1910 (10.211.1499) Japanese netsuke, originally created as carved toggles to attach small containers to a kimono sash, became popular souvenirs and collectibles among Europeans in the late nineteenth century. This netsuke depicts Gama Sennin, or frog sage, a holy man of Japanese folklore who lived in the mountains with his companion, a large frog, sometimes taking the shape of a frog himself.

15 BARBOTINE Barbotine ware is earthenware decorated using colored liquid slips that are painted onto the surface in an impasto style akin to Impressionist or Barbizon landscape painting. Ernest Chaplet was instrumental in the development of barbotine decoration in the early 1870s, though he eventually abandoned it because the process was so technically demanding. Barbotine pottery is associated with the production of the Haviland workshop at Auteuil and the Laurin factory at Bourg-la-Reine. Barbotine ware was also made by American art potters of the same period.

Large dish Laurin factory (French, 19th century) French (Bourg-la-Reine), ca. 1880 Earthenware Robert A. Ellison Jr. Collection, Gift of Robert A. Ellison Jr., 2013 (2013.239.11) This still life is beautifully painted in an Impressionist style. The artist conveys the tactile qualities of details such as artichoke leaves, the carafe of wine, and the folds of the tablecloth. Still lifes were a popular subject among some Impressionist painters.

Jardinière Haviland & Co. (American and French, 1864-1931) Decorated by Emile-Justin Merlot (French, 1839-1900) French (Paris), ca. 1880 Earthenware Robert A. Ellison Jr. Collection, Gift of Robert A. Ellison Jr., 2013 (2013.239.21) Ceramics decorated using the barbotine method of painting with colored liquid slips required a flat canvas-like surface on which the artist could paint. Hence new forms were developed with flat sides, like this jardinière. The pond scene, in the Barbizon style, recalls landscapes by Charles-François Daubigny (1817-1878).

Charles-François Daubigny (French, 1817-1878) A River Landscape with Storks 1864 Oil on wood Bequest of Benjamin Altman, 1913 (14.40.818) Barbotine pottery was related to contemporary movements in painting such as and the . Daubigny's landscape exemplifies the spontaneous, painterly Barbizon style that was copied in barbotine pottery.

16 Artist Bios

AUGUSTE DELAHERCHE (FRENCH, 1857-1940) Delaherche was born in Beauvais, where he showed an early interest in the arts. He began his career in ceramics in 1883 working for a company that produced inexpensive utilitarian wares. In 1887 he acquired Ernest Chaplet's Haviland studio in Paris, where he focused exclusively on artistic stoneware inspired by Asian ceramics. In 1894 he moved to Armentières to work quietly in the countryside. Known for his minimalist style and beautiful glazes, Delaherche was one of the most important, and most famous, fin-de-siècle ceramicists.

JOSEPH-THÉODORE DECK (FRENCH, 1823-1891) Deck was a pioneer of the French art pottery movement. His small-scale manufactory, which specialized in artistic (tin-glazed earthenware), achieved success by producing ceramics in the popular styles of the day—Turkish, East Asian, and Neo-Renaissance. Deck's innovative use of color and his developments in glazes, including the distinctive turquoise glaze that bears his name, "bleu de Deck," made him a leader in the avant-garde ceramic art renaissance of the late nineteenth century.

ERNEST CHAPLET (FRENCH, 1835-1909) Considered the father of the art pottery movement, Chaplet played an influential role in nearly all genres. After apprenticing at Sèvres, Chaplet worked at the Laurin factory in Bourg-la-Reine and at the Haviland workshop at Auteuil, where he developed barbotine ware—a pottery akin to Impressionist painting. In 1881 he was appointed director of the Haviland studio on the rue Blomet in Paris, where he made rustic brown stoneware. In 1886 he met Paul Gauguin with whom he collaborated on stoneware vessels. Chaplet sold the rue Blomet studio to Auguste Delaherche in 1887 and moved to Choisy-le-Roi, where he worked as an independent art potter, focusing on Chinese-inspired porcelain with high-fire "flambé" glazes.

JEAN-JOSEPH CARRIES (FRENCH, 1855-1894) Carries was born in Lyon to a poor family and orphaned at the age of six. A visionary, he achieved prominence as a sculptor before turning to ceramics. His work included Japanese-style stoneware vessels, Gothic-inspired sculptural ceramics, and caricature-like facial masks. His , with matte glazes enhanced with gold, created a sensation when they were exhibited in Paris in 1892. Carries died two years later, at the home of his friend Georges Hoentschel; he was thirty-nine.

17