Limoges
French
1. Centre of enamel production.
Enamel casket decorated with courtly scenes, 156×110×211 mm, from Limoges,…During the early 12th century there was a distinct movement towards the production of champlevé enamelling on copper or bronze, which afforded larger areas to be decorated than was previously possible with gold cloisonné enamelling. By the mid-12th century Limoges workshops had become highly commercial, manufacturing enamelled goods in the Romanesque style for civil and religious purposes, and exporting them throughout Europe and beyond until the late 14th century. There was a demand for such items as reliquaries and shrines, which served as the 'canvas' for the superb enamel embellishments, and most church treasures included an ecclesiastical object enamelled in Limoges. Towards the end of the 13th century, however, there were signs that the manufacture was in decline. The craft of champlevé enamelling was brought to an end by the sacking of Limoges (1371) during the early stages of the Hundred Years War (1337-1453).
By 1470 painted enamels on copper were being made in Limoges, and by the early 16th century Limoges was again the main centre of enamel production. Metal divisions used in the earlier techniques were replaced by a network of drawn lines screening off areas for underpainting and subsequent application of colours. Nevertheless, the tradition that classified enamellers as goldsmiths continued. The enamels of this period are based on copper plaques, which could be assembled in metal-framed sets to form polyptychs. The decoration on these early pieces was usually religious with stained glass as a major source of inspiration, both in subject-matter and style, which gave rise to a technique known as grisaille. This technique of underpainting, introduced c. 1535, is part of the Limoges school method.
Nardon Pénicaud was one of the earliest masters to exercise a style that contrasted dramatically with the vivid colours employed in the earlier champlevé period. Enamels painted in Limoges were dark and sombre, reflecting the pessimism prevalent during the Reformation. Late 15th-century enamellers included the Pénicaud family and an anonymous enameller or enamellers known as the Monvaërni. Paintings and prints by contemporary painters and engravers were frequently copied or adapted by enamellers, and many specially commissioned pieces bore family crests. Limoges enamels retained an almost exclusively religious character until the Italian Renaissance encouraged the portrayal of mythological compositions; pagan and Christian subjects were, however, also produced.
Léonard Limosin excelled at enamelled portraits and in 1548 was appointed Emailleur du Roi by Henry II. More than 1000 enamels were produced in his workshop, including functional and decorative pieces. The Bishop of Limoges, Jean de Langeac, was Limosin's first patron and probably introduced him to the court of Francis I at Fontainebleau, where the craft of the Limoges enamellers won international recognition. The Limosin family occupied the same house in Rue Manigne, the enamellers' quarter in Limoges, for over a hundred years.
Suzanne de Court: Apollo on Mount Helicon, l. 195 mm,…Pierre Raymond (1513-c. 1584) was a notable Limoges enameller who headed a workshop specializing in enamelled tableware mainly commissioned by wealthy German families. He is also known for his iconographical plaques, including a series of 16 illustrating the Life and Passion of Christ. His compositions are taken almost entirely from designs by 16th-century European engravers. During the 16th century three notable enamellers emerged from the Court family: Jean Court, dit Vigier (b c. 1545), Jean de Court (fl 1541-64) and the only known female Limoges enameller Suzanne de Court, whose polychrome style achieved an interesting 'counter-reformation' in the early 17th century. During the same period Pierre Courteys (b c. 1520) executed large, decorative plaques and enamelled wares in the style of Pierre Raymond, but in a more vigorous and colourful manner. However, Courteys's two sons left Limoges to become painters and goldsmiths at court due to the decline in demand for Limoges painted enamels towards the end of the 16th century.
Limoges remained identified with Renaissance designs until the beginning of the 20th century, when enamellers responded to mainstream contemporary art. At the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes in 1925 in Paris the work of such Limoges enamellers as Léon Jouhaud (1874-1950) and his contemporaries Paul Bonnard, Camille Fauré, Jean-Baptiste Issanchou, Alexandre Marty, Charles Peltant, Jules Sarlandie and Jeanne Soubourou was exhibited. In 1972 a first Biennale was held in Limoges to show the work of contemporary leading international enamellers, and this once again established Limoges as an important centre for enamelling. Limoges enamellers who have gained international reputations in the late 20th century include Christian Christel (b 1925), Alain Dubain (b 1951), Anny Dhelomme (b c. 1950), Dominique Gilbert (b 1953) and Michèle Gilbert (b 1955).
2. Centre of porcelain production.
Kaolin (china clay) deposits were discovered at Saint-Yrieix, near Limoges, in 1765. In 1771 Joseph Massié, whose father André Massié (d 1763) had set up a faience factory in Limoges in 1736, went into partnership with Nicolas Fournérat, a chemist and member of the Académie des Sciences in Paris, and the merchants Pierre Grellet (d 1774) and Gabriel Grellet, producing hard-paste porcelain (e.g. bouillon cup and cover, c. 1771-3; Limoges, Mus. N. Adrien-Dubouché). The factory received the support of the Comte d'Artois and produced wares decorated mainly with naturalistic flowers. After financial difficulties, it was purchased by Louis XVI in 1784 for the production of plain white wares to be decorated at Sèvres. From this period Limoges became internationally famous, especially during the 19th century, for supplying increasingly refined white paste; the technical improvements were principally carried out by François Allauad (1739-99), a director of the Manufacture Royale between 1788 and 1791, and François Pouyat (1754-1835). The Limoges paste was sent to porcelain factories in Paris and the rest of France and exported throughout Europe. Decoration at the Manufacture Royale, which operated until 1792, was strongly influenced by Sèvres (e.g. écuelle and platter, c. 1788-93; Sèvres, Mus. N. Cér.).
Other important porcelain factories operating in Limoges during the 18th century were those of La Seynie and Baignol. La Seynie was founded in 1774 by Jean-Baptiste-Joseph du Gareau de la Seynie (1735-98), after china clay and china stone deposits were discovered on his land. The wares were noted for being extremely white and were decorated in a style that was influenced by Sèvres (e.g. sauceboat and platter; Limoges, Mus. N. Adrien-Dubouché). La Seynie was taken over in 1789 by Etienne Baignol (1750-1822), who had previously been first modeller at the Manufacture Royale. Baignol left in 1797 to start his own factory in the Couvent des Augustins, producing wares that reflected the current Neo-classical style in form and decoration (e.g. sugar bowl, cover and platter; Limoges, Mus. N. Adrien-Dubouché).
During the 19th century the number of factories in Limoges increased; many of them were associated with Parisian porcelain factories and decorating workshops. The Allauad family continued to produce useful wares and such ornamental vases as the Vases Medici. In 1858 the factory passed through marriage to Haviland Brothers & Co., the American firm of porcelain retailers established in Limoges in 1838. The Limoges branch was started by David Haviland (1814-79), who acted for the New York retailing business before he opened a decorating workshop in 1847 and produced porcelain from 1855. The firm continued in many forms, run by various members of the Haviland family, throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. From the beginning Haviland Brothers & Co. (1838-65) and Haviland & Co. (1864-1930) concentrated on producing domestic wares principally for the American market, even supplying the White House in Washington, DC, with services. They also produced more ornamental pieces and services, winning the gold medal at the 1853-4 Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations in New York and a silver medal at the 1867 Exposition Universelle in Paris, where they showed a 'Gothique' sugar bowl. Haviland & Co. started a decorating workshop in Auteuil (1873-82), run by Félix Bracquemond, in order to achieve more artistic production. Bracquemond was influenced by Japanese prints and East Asian ceramics. The designer Albert-Louis Dammouse (1848-1926) also worked at the Haviland workshop, as did Ernest Chaplet after 1875.
From the 18th century the firm of Pouyat (1837-1912) continued to be operated by members of the family of that name and became known for the moulded decoration and sculptural qualities of the brilliant, marble-like white wares. Louis Dammouse designed the 'Grains de riz' service of 1878, which was decorated with elaborate, pierced work filled with translucent enamel. Other notable Limoges factories were the Tharaud Factory, which operated at intervals between 1822 and 1968 and was known in the 20th century for decoration using high-temperature colours; the Ruaud Factory (1829-69), which produced blue-and-white as well as ornamental wares; and the Ardent Factory (1854-90), which specialized in biscuit porcelain and employed the sculptor Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse. The sculptor Edouard Marcel Sandoz, the painter and engraver Jean Dufy (1888-1964) and painter Georges de Feure (1868-1943) were among the principal artists and designers who worked for a number of Limoges factories producing Art Deco style work.
G. H. Byrom and Bet McLeod. "Limoges." In Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online, http://www.oxfordartonline.com.proxy.lib.fsu.edu/subscriber/article/grove/art/T051125 (accessed March 6, 2012).
Person TypeInstitution
British, 1757 - 1802
American, 1847 - 1858
