*JL>A Fig. 1. Jean Dunand shortly before Iiis death in 1942, planing wood Mechthild Baumeister Jean Dunand - A Master of Art Deco Lacquer Jean Dunand was one of the most renowned French Art Deco and John James Quin, who independently studied the tradition• artists, creating lacquer furniture and dccorative objects that ex- al lacquer techniques in the late 19th Century in Japan.*' Working emplified the sophisticated taste of his time. His innovative on behalf of the Prussian government. Rein presented one hun• combination of traditional Oriental lacquer techniques with con- dred sample boards and an accompanying report to the temporary forms and abstract decorative designs establishcd his Königliche Kunstgewerbemuseum in Berlin in 1874.7 Quin was international success. commissioned by the British government to collect specimen Dunand's development as a lacquer artist is remarkable, espe- and tools for the new Museum of Economic Botany at the Roy• cially considering that he was one of the first Western artists al Botanic Gardens in Kew. By 1882 he had assembled an in- working with urushi. Born on May 20, 1877 in Lancy, Switzer- structive collection of 170 items, including raw materials and land, Dunand started his artistic and crafts-oriented training at tools, sample boards and objects demonstrating all stages of lac- the age of 14 at the Ecole des Arts Industrieis in Geneva, com- quering and decorative techniques, as well as finished Iacquer• pleting his studies in 1896 with a degree in sculpture and de- ware.8 Both reports describe in detail the cultivation of the lac• sign.1 The city of Geneva granted the talented young artist a quer tree Rhus vernicifera, the extraction of the tree's sap. the re- stipend to continue his training in Paris, where Dunand studied fining of the lacquer, the lacquering procedure and traditional with the art nouveau sculptor Jean Dampt. Influenced by Dampt, techniques of decoration.'' who belicved that a sculptor should also be a good craftsman, Dunand's notes and the sample boards he made during the Dunand spent his summer vacations as an apprentice to a Gene• lessons with Seizo Sugawara reflect the traditional Japanese lac• va coppersmith. There he learned the traditional metalworking quer technique. The type of lacquer most frequently noted by techniques for making household wares of hand-beaten copper Dunand is 'Sessime', which, according to Rein, is a purified, fil- and brass, known as Dinanderic.: Although Dunand found suc• tered and evenly flowing raw lacquer, rather than the lower qual- cess as a sculptor, participating in major exhibitions of his time, ity lacquer by the same name obtained from branches.1" Dunand such as the Exposition Universelle 1900 in Paris, commissions describes 'Nashizi' as a high grade transparent lacquer and for carved furniture and interior decorations demonstrated to 'Schuaye', an oil-containing lacquer for use in ordinary and col- him the economic advantages of the applied arts. Consequently. ored Iacquerware." Besides heat. Dunand mentions the addition he focused on his decorative metalwork and established himsclf of camphor for thinning and glycerin for thickening the lacquer. as a Dinandier. It was in this context that he first experimented The wooden sample boards made by Dunand during Sug• with coatings to prevent corrosion. He noticed that the Japanese awara's lessons demonstrate a 30 step process of producing a metal vases sent to his Workshop for rcstoration had a lacquer black lacqucred surface (figs. 2 and 3). Following ten ground surface, that was not only protective but added a decorative layers of 'Kekso', 'Sessime', 'Ita', 'Kiriko', 'Dzinoko' and effect. Fascinated by the Oriental lacquer technique and eager to 'Sabi' (the components of which vary from layer to layer and apply it to his own metalware, Dunand invited several Parisian contain different proportions of powdered burnt clay, finely lacquer specialists to his studio to learn from them the secret of ground clay, chopped hemp or cotton fibers, cloth, 'Sessime', lacquer work. He was astonished by their lack of knowledge and rice starch and water), three layers of black 'Louero' lacquer considered them simply varnishcrs.3 Pursuing his keen interest were applied and finished with two coatings of'Sessime'.12 Be- in this matter, he then contacted the Japanese lacquer artist Seizo tween each application the dried layer was smoothed or polishcd Sugawara, who himself was interested in Dunand's metal work• with a stone, charcoal, finely ground clay, or powdered calcined ing techniques. They agreed to exchange their Workshop secrcts. deer antler.13 Sugawara must have emphasized the importance of Seizo Sugawara camc from the small village of Johoji in the this procedure to Dunand, as indicated by this comment from the north of Japan, which is famous for its Iacquerware. In 1900, at notebook: 'Lacqucrers who do not know very well how to pol- the age of eighteen, he arrived in Paris as part of the Japanese ish and smooth lacquer with charcoal are called camcls, because 14 national delegation to the Exposition Universelle, to oversee the a camel has two humps, similar to badly polished lacquer'. Iacquerware sent from Japan.4 Sugawara decided to settle in Dunand describes the 'Louero' lacquer, called 'Ro-iro urushi' in Paris, where he became an important figure in the art scene, Rein's terminology, as the highest quality black lacquer. It is ob• teaching Western artists the Oriental lacquer technique. Dunand tained by the reaction of urushi with iron. A Solution of iron fil- and the Irish artist Eileen Gray were his most prominent stu- ings in vinegar is added to 'Sessime' and then the lacquer is 15 dents. heated and filtered. In addition, he mentions 'Yuyen', a The thirteen lessons Sugawara gave to Dunand in 1912 are 'Nashizi' lacquer mixed with lamp black, and a lower grade documented in Dunand's personal notebook.5 He recorded de- 'Jöhana" lacquer, which contains oil and is blackened with iron scriptions for preparing the lacquer. the tools and materials. the powder. Dunand pointed out that oil-containing lacquers. such working procedure, and various decorative techniques, includ- as 'Schuaye' and 'Jöhana', used for ordinary lacquer articles ing their Japanese names. The Interpretation of Dunand's notes, were never polished."' For colored lacquers various pigments especially the Japanese terminology, is made easier by compar- were added, vermilion ('Schu') and iron-oxide ('Bcnigara') for ison with the extensive documentation of Johannes Justus Rein red lacquer, cadmium and chrome yellow for yellow lacquer, 207 K nu K.o kou Kit, • \9 fO'-.l F. 3: •c ITA Collen u T« PON..-* A^r. clMl\6fltf POKK», »9 FOWEft > S« »•I HONOKUtl'Mh It -iNONOi ift-R i K POWiEK ^pJi* vM^ftUI^ Ifcfl SlMIKO>JOAI.UP|i i-vrnsvI HI «If*; <"<(< toi.e«, ? LML02 UoKo OROJ 15-' COOCHt I ro.ief.Mf.ui -i 1 SAB i i&SS Mieit * 5' c I » |« toi.Mt »»UtijiLO. Sse^MME •ÄViEA »VC* UMA lINOku {IM 1 IV, tou»H,e norre« ».u ifm'M LoueA MppOk »; OIMTE TONOK.0 » i'Hui " 'ER•'E., KIN/ttSSlIl <HJA t "JT lOKtHf 5(t •ONti'i<|)jTilAr PIVIXIA > o. A *«ipM' - icunijj 1 Fig. 2. Sample boards produced by Dunand during lessons with Sug- Fig. 3. Backside of sample boards listing Ihe 30 Steps for producing a awara in 1912 black lacquered surface Prussian blue for blue lacquer and barium sulfate, lead and zinc studio in his Workshop, located in the Ruc Halle in the four- white as white colorants. Green lacquer was obtained either tcenth arrondisscment in Paris. He obtained the lacquer from the from a mixture of yellow and blue pigments or chromium oxide. French colonies in Indochina (now Vietnam), and most of the Brown was achieved by mixing red 'Schu' and black 'Jöhana' craftsmen who helped him with the lacquer work in his studio lacquer. Sugawara also taught Dunand the application of gold were also Indochinese. In a magazine interview of the early lacquer, which incorporates metal leafs and powdcr. as well as 1920s Dunand explained that he favored Asian assistants be- other decorative techniques. Dunand noted the importancc of a cause they were experienccd in working with lacquer and were dust free environment for the drying of lacquer and that the lac• not susceptible to the allergic reaction to urushi common among quered object was placed in an armoire. However, he did not Europeans.1" The 1920s and 1930s were Dunand's most suc- comment on the high relative humidity level required for curing cessful and creative period: lacquer had become the integral Cl• lacquer. The use of 'Sessime' on metal was specifically ad- ement in his artistic oeuvre.2" Rene Gimbel, a Paris based art drcssed and special mention was made of the fact that the lac• dealer who visited Dunand in his studio on June 8 in 1920 17 quer applied to metal can be hardened in an oven. copied Dunand's description of lacquer in his di ary: 'Of course The lessons took place over a period of two months, which can there are some art forms which are merely a matter of patience, only be considered a crash course.'" They provided Dunand with like the lacquer which I love so much! Just look, and think how an introduction to the Japanese lacquer technique. leaving this much work goes into preparing this stuff and making it. Here immensely talented craftsman with a new fascination that some- you have some trial attempts. On these tablets you can see the times took on the air of a verkable Obsession. When the lessons various stages of preparation. At the bottom, the first layer of were completed Dunand continued experiments on his own.