In this book, the authors examine the artist's oeuvre and trace his development from goldsmith-jeweller to glassmaker. They also indentify the key phases of his work in relation to the evolution of his technique, for example the application of the cire perdue process - normally associated with bronze casting - to glassmaking. Lalique's extraordinary output, including his scent bottles, vases, bowls, mascots and other statuary, is marvellously documented in more than 350 full-colour photographs,many of them previously unpublished.

Rene Jules Lalique (1860-1945) was an artist of wide-ranging genius: jeweller, glassmaker and interior designer. His patrons included royalty,industrialists and companies, his collaborators and friends many of the leading creative talents of the day. He began his illustrious career as a highly successful jeweller, and, innovative from the very start, reintroduced semi-precious stones and horn to the jeweller's palette.His discovery of glass as a jewellery medium determined his future direction as a glassmaker and he quickly became one of the central figures in the flowering of the decorative arts movement in France in the early years of the century.Lalique's art as a glassmaker demonstrates his complete mastery, technical and aesthetic, of his chosen medium, and reveals the true beauty of glass, fully justifying a contemporary view of him as the "pioneer of the Age of Glass".

In The Art of Rene Lalique, the authors examine the artist's oeuvre and trace his development from goldsmith-jeweller to glassmaker. They also indentify the key phases of his work in relation to the evolution of his technique, for example the application of the cire perdue process - normally associated with bronze casting - to glassmaking. Lalique's extraordinary output, including his scent bottles, vases, bowls, mascots and other statuary, is marvellously documented in more than 350 full-colour photographs,many of them previously unpublished. The Art of Rene Lalique is an essential reference book for all Lalique glass collectors and connoisseurs and amply illustrates just why collections, public and private, of Lalique's work, continue to grow so rapidly in popularity,importance and value.

LALIQUE THE MAN

THE JEWELLERY

EXPERIMENTS WITH GLASS

THE TECHNIQUES

THE EXHIBITIONS

THE FLACONS AND POWDER BOXES

BOXES AND DESK ACCESSORIES

SCULPTURE

DECORATIVE FURNISHINGS

VASES AND TABLEWARE

ARCHITECTURAL WORK

BIBLIOGRAPHY

INDEX