Edmond Lachenal (3 June 1855 – 10 June 1948) was a French potter. He was a key figure in the French

art pottery Art pottery is a term for pottery with artistic aspirations, made in relatively small quantities, mostly between about 1870 and 1930. Typically, sets of the usual tableware items are excluded from the term; instead the objects produced are mostly ...

movement,Sullivan, Elizabeth, "French Art Pottery", In ''Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History'', The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2014
online
/ref> and his works are held in many international public collections. Edmond Lachenal had two sons,

Jean-Jacques Lachenal Jean-Jacques is a French name, equivalent to "John James" in English. Since the second half of 18th century, Jean Jacques Rousseau was widely known as Jean Jacques. Notable people bearing this name include: Given name * Jean-Jacques Annaud (born 19 ...

and

Raoul Lachenal Raoul Lachenal (1885–1956) was a French potter. The son of Edmond Lachenal, Raoul Lachenal worked in his father's studio until 1911, when he established a new workshop at Boulogne-sur-Seine. While some of Raoul Lachenal's Art Nouveau ceramics ...

who succeeded him as potters. Edmond Lachenal was one of the pivotal figures in the development and creation of

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...

in ceramics, and his works are comparable in influence and importance to those of

Ernest Chaplet Ernest Chaplet (1835 in Sèvres – 1909 in Choisy-le-Roi) was a French designer, sculptor and ceramist. He was a key figure in the French art pottery movement, and his works are held in international public collections such as the Musée d'Orsay ...

Pierre-Adrien Dalpayrat Pierre-Adrien Dalpayrat or Adrien Dalpayrat (14 April 1844 – 10 August 1910) was a French potter who was a significant figure in French art pottery, especially known for his innovative coloured ceramic glazes, mostly on stoneware, but ...

, and Albert Dammouse. His work is included in collections of Art Nouveau ceramics in the Louvre, Paris and The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Training

He was trained in Theodore Deck's studio, starting when he was 15. At the 1873 World's Fair in Vienna, Lachenal's work as a decorator for Deck received an Honorable Mention. Following this award, he became director of Deck's decoration atelier, a significant promotion for one so young. In 1889, Lachenal received his first gold medal at the World's Fair in Paris for his work with faience wares in the style of Theodore Deck. These works used bright, polychrome glazes, a feature of his work that would remain constant throughout his career.

Art Nouveau

His early work was an imitation of what he produced while working for Deck, but by the 1890s, Lachenal's work showed the influences of the trends and fashions of the late nineteenth century: Japanese prints, the shift from faience pottery to grès, and the emergence of

. Unlike his peers, Lachenal did not produce matte glazed works, instead creating his matte effects with

hydrofluoric acid Hydrofluoric acid is a solution of hydrogen fluoride (HF) in water. Solutions of HF are colorless, acidic and highly corrosive. A common concentration is 49% (48–52%) but there are also stronger solutions (e.g. 70%) and pure HF has a boiling p ...

, eating away the glossy surface to create a matte effect. This procedure was controversial at the time (

Émile Gallé Émile Gallé (; 4 May 1846 in Nancy, France, Nancy – 23 September 1904 in Nancy) was a French artist and designer who worked in glass, and is considered to be one of the major innovators in the French Art Nouveau movement. He was noted fo ...

was one who disapproved), but allowed him to produce brightly colored work. During this period,

Emile Decoeur Emile or Émile may refer to: * Émile (novel) (1827), autobiographical novel based on Émile de Girardin's early life * Emile, Canadian film made in 2003 by Carl Bessai * '' Emile: or, On Education'' (1762) by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, a treatise o ...

was his apprentice and worked in his studio.

Collaborations with Sculptors

By 1894 Lachenal had begun casting sculptors' work in stoneware with mat glazes. The best known of his collaborations was with the Swedish-born sculptor,

Agnès de Frumerie Agnes Eleonora Augusta Emilia de Frumerie (20 November 1869 – 2 April 1937) was a Swedish artist who spent much of her career in France. She was born Agnes Eleonora Augusta Emilia Kjellberg in Skövde and studied at the Royal Swedish Aca ...

(1869–1937). She produced

Symbolist Symbolism or symbolist may refer to: *Symbol, any object or sign that represents an idea Arts *Artistic symbol, an element of a literary, visual, or other work of art that represents an idea ** Color symbolism, the use of colors within various c ...

figurative sculptures and decorations for the vases. Their collaboration continued until at least 1907. Lachenal also produced faience editions of vases by

Hector Guimard Hector Guimard (, 10 March 1867 – 20 May 1942) was a French architect and designer, and a prominent figure of the Art Nouveau style. He achieved early fame with his design for the Castel Beranger, the first Art Nouveau apartment building i ...

in the same organic style as the

Paris Metro 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 ...

entrances in 1902. File:Ariana museum - islamic pottery imitation - Bassin - Atelier Theodore Deck - Paris - France, vers 1863 - Inventaire AR 2013-145 (cropped).JPG,

Islamic pottery Islamic pottery occupied a geographical position between Chinese ceramics, and the pottery of the Byzantine Empire and Europe. For most of the period, it made great aesthetic achievements and influence as well, influencing Byzantium and Europe ...

style, Atelier Theodore Deck, c. 1863 File:Charger with flowers and butterflies MET DP-1725-010 (cropped).jpg, Charger with flowers and butterflies,

earthenware Earthenware is glazed or unglazed Vitrification#Ceramics, nonvitreous pottery that has normally been fired below . Basic earthenware, often called terracotta, absorbs liquids such as water. However, earthenware can be made impervious to liquids ...

, 1870s File:Vase Hector Guimard 1899 Bröhan Museum Berlin 21042018 1.jpg, Vase designed by

and made by Lachenal, 1899 File:Edmond lachenal per manifattura keller et guérin, serizio da the guy, lunéville, 1900-10 ca. 02.JPG, Teapot by Keller et Guérin,

Lunéville Lunéville ( ; German : ''Lünstadt'' ; Lorrain: ''Leneinvile'') is a commune in the northeastern French department of Meurthe-et-Moselle. It is a subprefecture of the department and lies on the river Meurthe at its confluence with the Ve ...

, 1900s File:Edmond lachenal per keller et guérin, vaso con decoro a iris, lunéville 1895 circa, faience.JPG, Vase by Keller et Guérin,

, c. 1895 File:Edmond lachenal, vaso per keller et guerin, luneville 1895.JPG, Vase by Keller et Guérin,

, c. 1895 File:Edmond lachenal, vaso, 1900 ca.jpg, Vase c. 1902 File:Edmond lachenal ed émile decoeur, vaso, chatillon-sur-bagneux, 1902 ca..JPG, Vase c.1902 File:Edmond lachenal per vetreria daum, caraffa e bicchieri del servito guy, nancy, post 1901, 01.JPG, Glass decanter, Nancy, after 1901

References

Jason Jacques gallery, NY
* Edmond Lachenal and His Legacy, by Martin Eidelberg, Claire Cass, Hudson Hills Press; illustrated edition (February 25, 2007)
French museum collections

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lachenal, Edmond 1855 births 1948 deaths French potters Art Nouveau designers Art pottery