Émile-Aubert Lessore or Lessorre (1805 in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

– 1876 in Marlotte) was a French ceramic artist and painter.

Life

He originally worked in

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) and lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturate ...

and water colors, but expanded into

ceramic art Ceramic art is art made from ceramic materials, including clay. It may take varied forms, including artistic pottery, including tableware, tiles, figurines and other sculpture. As one of the plastic arts, ceramic art is a visual art. While ...

. His ceramics work received a variety of medals, including his 1862 exhibition in London, 1867 exhibition in Paris, and 1873 exhibit in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

. Known for his subdued and delicate coloring, Lessore is said to have led a revolution in the decoration of pottery. Emile painted a variety of ceramic pieces, many for the

Wedgwood Wedgwood is an English China (material), fine china, porcelain and luxury accessories manufacturer that was founded on 1 May 1759 by the potter and entrepreneur Josiah Wedgwood and was first incorporated in 1895 as Josiah Wedgwood and Sons L ...

pottery company. Some scenes painted on the ceramic pieces are from other works. Festin juif

Lessore first studied under

Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres ( ; ; 29 August 1780 – 14 January 1867) was a French Neoclassicism, Neoclassical Painting, painter. Ingres was profoundly influenced by past artistic traditions and aspired to become the guardian of academic ...

, which led to his first exhibit in the

Paris Salon The Salon (), or rarely Paris Salon (French: ''Salon de Paris'' ), beginning in 1667 was the official art exhibition of the in Paris. Between 1748 and 1890 it was arguably the greatest annual or biennial art event in the Western world. At the ...

at age 26. At that time, it was unusual for someone so young to have a painting exhibit in official art exhibition of the

Académie des Beaux-Arts The (; ) is a French learned society based in Paris. It is one of the five academies of the . The current president of the academy (2021) is Alain-Charles Perrot, a French architect. Background The academy was created in 1816 in Paris as a me ...

. Over the next twenty years, his paintings sold well. In 1835 he published, with

William Wyld William Wyld (1806 in London – 25 December 1889 in Paris) was an English painter who participated at the Exposition Universelle (1855), Exposition Universelle of 1855. He was a friend of painters Ary Scheffer and Paul Delaroche. Early life ...

, ''Voyage pittoresque dans la Régence d’Alger'' (Paris, Charles Motte, 1835). In 1851, Lessore began his ceramics work in

Sèvres Sèvres (, ) is a French Communes of France, commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris. It is located from the Kilometre zero, centre of Paris, in the Hauts-de-Seine department of the Île-de-France region. The commune, which had a populatio ...

, a southwestern suburb of Paris, France known for its

porcelain Porcelain (), also called china, is a ceramic material made by heating Industrial mineral, raw materials, generally including kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The greater strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to oth ...

manufacture. Lessore tapped into his artistic painting experience to produce a pair of large, decorated vases. These were purchased in 1853 by the

Emperor of Russia The emperor and autocrat of all Russia (, ), also translated as emperor and autocrat of all the Russias, was the official title of the List of Russian monarchs, Russian monarch from 1721 to 1917. The title originated in connection with Russia's ...

for 1,000

guineas The guinea (; commonly abbreviated gn., or gns. in plural) was a coin, minted in Great Britain between 1663 and 1814, that contained approximately one-quarter of an ounce of gold. The name came from the Guinea region in West Africa, from where m ...

($5,145). Lessore's unique artistic expression did not fit well with the techniques of the other artists in Sèvres and by 1858 Lessore had moved to England to work for English potter

Thomas Minton Thomas Minton (1765–1836) was an English potter. He founded Thomas Minton & Sons in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, which grew into a major ceramic manufacturing company with an international reputation. During the early 1780s Thomas Minton ...

. Lessore then moved to

Etruria, Staffordshire Etruria is a suburb of Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. History Home of Wedgwood Etruria was the fourth and penultimate site for the Wedgwood pottery business. Josiah Wedgwood, who was previously based in Burslem, opened his new works ...

, where he worked for the famous firm of

. Lessore exhibits were well received and he received personal exhibition medals in London (1862), Paris (1867), and

(1873).

Landscape with River and Boats MET DP876488

At age 68, Lessore moved back to Paris to continue his work with ceramics in

Fontainebleau Fontainebleau ( , , ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Functional area (France), metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the Kilometre zero#France, centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a Subprefectures in Franc ...

but maintained contact with Wedgwood. Lessore died in 1876 at the age of 71.

References

* '' Le journal des Goncourt'', Vol IV, page 135; * Explication des ouvrages de peinture, sculpture, architecture, gravure et... du Salon de la Société des Artistes Français * Lynne Thornton: ''Les Orientalistes''; * ''L'Écho de la Fabrique'', Le Salon de 1833, N°30 du 28 Juillet; * André Roussard : ''Dictionnaire des peintres à Montmartre'' au XIXe et XXe siècle, Montmartre 1999; * Olivier Fanica: '' Un céramiste à découvrir: Lessore ''; Les Amis de Bourbon-Marlotte; été 1983 N°13; * * Emile Lessore and William Wyld : " ''Voyage pittoresque dans la régence d'Alger''" reissue of the architect

Fernand Pouillon Fernand Pouillon (14 May 1912 – 24 July 1986) was a French architect, urban planner, building contractor and writer. Pouillon was one of the most active and influential post-World War II architects and builders in France. He is remembered for ...

éditeur Jardin de Flore Paris 1973;

External links

École à Alger

Akoun

Artprice Artprice () is a French online art price Database. It houses millions of art auction records from over 800,000 artists from sales since the 1980's. The database was created by its now CEO Thierry Ehrmann in 1987. History Created in 1987 ...

RMN Réunion des Musées Nationaux
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lessore, Emile 19th-century French painters French male painters French ceramists 1805 births 1876 deaths 19th-century French male artists