French Art Glass

The History of Glass Art
By Scott M Johnson

Rudimentary forms of glass blowing techniques have been recorded as early as 50BC. It was an art well promoted by ancient Phoenicians and Romans when they established one of the most prolific glassblowing centers in Germany during the first century BC! Glass art has come a long way since, with flamboyant artists like Dale Chihuly creating extravagant pieces for hotels and galleries.

If you ask any skilled glass artist, they will tell you that the best pieces of work can only be created by hand blown glass. These skilled craftsmen create astounding works like glass flowers, glass decor and other unique creations. Perhaps the most artistic venture was that of Dale Chihuly, when he created the glass flower lobby for the Bellagio in Las Vegas and the popularity of glass flowers soared.

Unlike any other form of glass art, glass flowers have the ability to be used as centerpieces and home decor because of their shape and color, without making a room appear too formal. How you want to use glass art for your home or work place depends on your own style. Some people like using single stemmed flowers while others like custom installations such as the one in the Bellagio.

Glass art is not restricted to flowers only. An online search will tell you that glassblowers have developed innumerable pieces of art with glass because of its durability and other physical qualities. Pieces as remarkable as glass flowers or glass figurines can only be created by hand blown glass, they are expensive because of the amount of hard work that goes in making each piece but glassblowers are striving to create budget friendly pieces as well.

Before purchasing glass art, you must ensure that you are not getting furnace blown glass art instead of hand made. Furnace blown pieces are less expensive and less durable. They also lack the beauty of a hand created masterpiece. It is always advisable to buy directly from the artist's workshop.

Whether you are looking for single delicate pieces or an installation that will make your home more beautiful, glass art is a wonderful solution.

Scott Johnson is a master glass artist who has been making glass flowers since 2003. His creations have been showcased in several galleries. Visit his website Jade Glass to know more about glass flowers and custom flower installations.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Scott_M_Johnson

http://EzineArticles.com/?The-History-of-Glass-Art&id=4369872

Fenton Art Glass Frostberries On French Opalescent Rose Bowl

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Émile Gallé

Émile Gallé was a French artist who worked in glass, and is considered to be one of the major forces in the French Art Nouveau movement.

Gallé was the son of a faience and furniture manufacturer and studied philosophy, botany, and drawing in his youth. He later learned glassmaking at Meisenthal and came to work at his father's factory in Nancy following the Franco-Prussian War. His early work was executed using clear glass decorated with enamel, but he soon turned to an original style featuring heavy, opaque glass carved or etched with plant motifs, often in two or more colours as cameo glass. His friend and patron Robert de Montesquiou sent him to Bayreuth with a recommendation to Cosima Wagner, which led to a great enthusiasm for Parsifal.^[1] His career took off after his work received praise at the Paris Exhibition of 1878.

Within a decade of another successful showing at the Paris Exhibition of 1889, Gallé had reached international fame and his style, with its emphasis on naturalism and floral motifs, was at the forefront of the emerging Art Nouveau movement. ^[2]

Gallé vase with lilies and daises. Multi-layered blown crystal with inclusions of glass and gold dust, cabochons and handles added on and fused.

He continued to incorporate experimental techniques into his work, such as metallic foils and air bubbles, and also revitalized the glass industry by establishing a workshop to mass produce his, and other artists', designs. The factory would employ 300 workers and artisans at its height, including the notable glassmaker Eugène Rosseau, and remained in operation until 1936.

Gallé wrote a book on art entitled Écrits pour l'art 1884-89 ("Writings on Art 1884-89"), which was published posthumously in 1908.^[3]

What is less well-known is Gallé's social engagement. He was a convinced humanist, and was involved in organizing evening schools for the working class (l’Université populaire de Nancy). He was treasurer of the Nancy branch of the Ligue Française pour la Défense des Droits de l’Homme and in 1898, at great risk for his business, one of the first to become actively involved in the defence of Alfred Dreyfus. He also publicly condemned the Armenian genocide, defended the Romanian Jews and spoke up in defence of the Irish Catholics against Britain, supporting William O’Brien, one of the leaders of the Irish revolt^[4] In 1901 he founded École de Nancy,(Alliance Provinciale des Industries d'art) an Art Nouveau movement with, Victor Prouvé, Louis Majorelle, Antonin Daum and Eugène Vallin in the city of Nancy in Lorraine (France).Many of Gallé works are kept at the Musée de l'École de Nancy.

The MID CENTURY MODERN ART GLASS style is defined by its modern forms, biomorphic shapes, sensual lines and exceptional quality in materials and workmanship. Bright, intense, vivid colors are characteristic of this period. Forged in the furnaces of post war Europe and North America, the modern art art glass from this period ranges from sophisticated in form, to abstract in nature. Vases, vessels, lamps and figurative pieces are unique in style and distinctive in both execution and interpretation. The artists and designers from various studios in Europe all touched the genre with their style, individualism and artistic flare. Creating some of the most unique and sought after art glass pieces of this century. Highly collectible and prized the world over.

Glass Blowing. Hand-blown modern art glass. Video 1

Stained Glass Art Nouveau

It was Tamara de Lempicka's boldly coloured, highly stylized and erotic paintings that attracted my attention when I was a teenager and ultimately sparked my love affair with Art Deco. Characterized by classic Art Deco styling - angular forms, bold, bright colours and exuding an ultra-glam, super-sexy vibe - her paintings are by far the most recognizable of the Art Deco era.

Her life was as deliciously decadent as her paintings. She was born in Poland on May 16, 1898, married and moved to Russia at 16 and escaped the turmoil of the Russian Revolution at 20 with her Russian husband, Thadeus Lempitzski. They had one daughter, Kizette, who was frequently featured in her mother's famous paintings. They divorced shortly after de Lempicka learned of her husband's sordid affairs with a multitude of women.

She attended the Académie Ransom from 1925 to 1939, studying under the famous painter, Maurice Denis. Her work was first exhibited in Paris at the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes. Less than two years later she won the first prize at the Exposition International des Beaux-Arts in Bordeaux.

This catapulted her to celebrity status and all of Europe's high society coveted a portrait painted by the gorgeous and gifted Tamara. She led a scandalous(!) lifestyle and was rumored to have slept with many of her male and female 'subjects'.

She married Baron Kuffner, one of her patrons, in 1933 and together they escaped Paris to Hollywood in 1939. They moved to New York in 1943, where she began to experiment in abstract art and still life. A negative review of one of her exhibits, and the death of her husband in 1962, led her to abandon painting once and for all.

There was some renewed interest in her paintings during the Art Deco resurgence in the 1970s, however, de Lempicka had fallen into a depression and retreated from public life at this point. She moved to Mexico in 1978 and died there in 1980.

Tamara de Lempicka's paintings are more popular than ever today and she is considered to be one of the most famous and most admired of all the Art Deco artists.

To learn about the lives and works of other famous Art Deco painters visit Art Deco Artists

Antique American Art Deco octagonal shaped milk glass compot

Antique French Art Deco frosted glass 4 corner chandelier

Rio Art D

Rio de Janeiro is famous for its beaches and night-life, but what about its architecture? Do you know that the city has a district called Flamengo with innumerous art d? buildings? Many buildings were constructed in the late thirties and forties. Flamengo also has some design buildings that follow the eclectic style, similar to Chicago´s Louis Sullivan. Until the 1950s, Flamengo and Catete were the principal residential zones of Rio's wealthier middle classes and that may be the reason why some of these landmark buildings were constructed here. Some of the art pearls include the famous Biarritz, Flamengo "little Castle" , Tabor Loreto, and and even a Carioca version of New York's legendary Dakota building Let us now walk through some of these living treasures.

Biarritz Building: Perhaps the most well known building in Flamengo district is definitely the Biarritz Building, located at Praia do Flamengo, 268 (268 Flamengo Beach). Considered an art-deco masterpiece in Rio, the Biarritz has its construction finalized in the beginning of the 40´s, being a copy of an existing building in Paris, on Montaigne Avenue. This art-d? landmark was designed by French architects Auguste Rendu and Henri Paul Pierre Sajous, who designed two other art deco structures in Flamengo: the Tabor Loreto Building (Flamengo beach corner with Paysandu) and the Saint Trinity Church (located at Senador Vergueiro Street ) built in 1938. Some of the reasons for Biarritz's elegance fame include its rounded balcony with its yellow awning and imposing marble entrance hallway. The Biarritz has 2 apartments per floor and a unique winter garden in Rio designed with a lovely water fountain.

Seabra Building: Designed by Italian architect M?o Vodret, from the Instituto Profissionalizante de Roma, the Seabra Building, a.k.a. the Carioca Dakota, was finalized in mid 30s, the second building at Flamengo Beach. The Seabra Building is considered the most "ghostly" in Brazil, with its eclectic architecture mixing the Moorish, the Gothic and Tuscan elements. Experts identify Seabra building's lines with Chicago architect Louis Sullivan The building has 4 apartments per floor and a facade that greatly resembles the famous Dakota building, John Lennon's home in New York. A legend says the Portuguese Commendatore Gerv?o Seabra commissioned Vodret the building after falling in love with the architecture of a castle in Tuscany. The building's psychedelic entrance was built to haunt: floors with several designs made of Italian marble, different wall paintings finished with whale oil and immense iron luster.

Flamengo "Castle" - Castelinho do Flamengo: Designed in 1916 by Gino Copede, it had its plan signed by Francisco de Santos, since Copede was Italian. Originally, it was the residence of the Portuguese construction mogul Commendatore Joaquim da Silva Cardoso. The building, which sometimes is referred to as the haunted house, shows eclectic art-nouveau architecture mixed with gothic and baroque lines. Nevertheless, the Italian tendency stands out, with a high slate-roof-tiled tower. Abandoned for several years and damaged from a fire, the building was restored by the City Hall and from 1993 on, the Castelinho do Flamengo has held the Cultural Center Oduvaldo Vianna Filho, (doing honor to the Brazilian playwright). Today the Castelinho do Flamengo offers rooms for video exhibitions and theatrical performances, a coffee bar, and a video library with 1800 movies in its catalogue.

Tabor Loreto Building: Taking over the corner of Praia do Flamengo with Rua Paissand?he project of Henri Sajous articulated the two facades of the building through the cylindrical volume of the corner, which was furnished with glass and grated with delicate ornamentations, smoothing the encounter of the two ´portions of the building. The result is an elegant and proportional set of lines.

Paysandu Hotel: This is another epoch building worthwhile paying a visit. The Hotel fa?e and the hotel hanging sign couldn't represent more the art deco style. The hotel reached its popularity peak in the fifties, when it accommodated Uruguay National Soccer Team during the 1950 World Cup in Rio. Uruguay eventually won the cup adding prestige to the hotel. Botafogo, one of the most traditional soccer teams in Rio, also used to Paysandu Hotel to prepare for its important games. Mythical soccer player Man?arrincha and Nilton Santos were frequent guests of Paysandu Hotel.

These are only some of Flamengo´s architectural gems. Other art buildings in the neighborhood include the Modern Art Museum, Julieta de Serpa teahouse and the outstanding twin buildings Hicat?d Ita?at Senador Euz?o street. Visiting Flamengo, if you are careful enough, you will be able to find a pearl in every walk, apart from its natural beauties. If you love architecture and art, try to settle in this charming neighborhood on your next trip to Rio. But don't forget to bring your camera along! Original photos of these buildings in Flamengo can be found at Belavista´s Rio Carnival Blog.

About the Author

Andre Skowronski is a managing partner at Belavista-Rio Rentals, leading provider of apartment rentals in Rio de Janeiro. Please visit Belavista-Rio website and find a full list of the most charming and affordable apartments in fancy neighborhoods of Rio such as Ipanema, Copacabana, Leblon, Flamengo, Lagoa and Barra da Tijuca.

The Teien Museum Prince Asaka residence Art Deco in Japan