Marc-Louis Solon
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Marc-Louis-Emmanuel Solon (1835 – 23 June 1913), pseudonym ''Miles'', was a French porcelain artist. After beginning his career at the Sèvres Pottery, he moved to
Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England. It has an estimated population of 259,965 as of 2022, making it the largest settlement in Staffordshire ...
in 1870 to work at
Mintons Ltd Mintons was a major company in Staffordshire pottery, "Europe's leading ceramic factory during the Victorian era", an independent business from 1793 to 1968. It was a leader in ceramic design, working in a number of different ceramic bodies, ...
, where he became the leading exponent of the technique of ceramic decoration called ''
pâte-sur-pâte ''Pâte-sur-pâte'' is a French term meaning "paste on paste". It is a method of porcelain decoration in which a relief design is created on an unfired, unglazed body, usually with a coloured body, by applying successive layers of (usually) white ...
''. His work commanded high prices in the late Victorian period. Solon was born in
Montauban Montauban (, ; ) is a commune in the southern French department of Tarn-et-Garonne. It is the capital of the department and lies north of Toulouse. Montauban is the most populated town in Tarn-et-Garonne, and the sixth most populated of Oc ...
,
Tarn-et-Garonne Tarn-et-Garonne (; ) is a Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania Regions of France, region in Southern France. It is traversed by the rivers Tarn (river), Tarn and Garonne, from which it takes its n ...
. After moving to England at the time of the
Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...
he lived there for the rest of his life.


Family

Solon married Laure, the daughter of Minton's
art director Art director is a title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, live-action and animated film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supe ...
, Léon Arnoux, and the Solons raised a large family in
The Villas The Villas, Stoke-on-Trent, is an estate of 24 Victorian houses in Stoke-upon-Trent, England. Originally a distinct settlement set in green fields, it now merges with the late 19th- and early 20th-century suburban sprawl along London Road b ...
near the Mintons factory. Their eldest son,
Léon-Victor Solon Léon-Victor Solon (17 April 1873 – 27 December 1957), son of ceramist Marc-Louis Solon, was an English painter, ceramist, and graphic artist. He was a purveyor of the Art Nouveau and Art Deco styles and an important Modern Style (British Art No ...
(1872–1957), joined Minton in the 1890s and became art director (1900–1909). Leon made an important contribution to
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 ...
ceramics at Minton before moving to the United States. Other notable sons include
Camille Solon Camille Antoine Arnoux Solon (1877–1960) was a British muralist and ceramist of French descent. He worked in the United Kingdom before emigrating in his 30s to the United States, where he worked with architect Julia Morgan, painting murals and ...
and Albert Solon of
Solon and Schemmel Tile Company Solon and Schemmel Tile Company (S&S) was a tile pottery business in San Jose, California from 1920 – 1936. The company's tiles adorn Steinhart Aquarium in San Francisco and the Hearst Castle in San Simeon, California. Other projects included t ...
.


Art

Despite some family resistance to his becoming an artist, he studied at the
École des Beaux-Arts ; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth centu ...
and with
Horace Lecoq de Boisbaudran Horace Lecoq de Boisbaudran (; May 14, 1802 – August 7, 1897) was a French artist and teacher. He was born in Paris. Boisbaudran was admitted in 1819 to the École des Beaux-Arts where he studied under Peyron and Guillon Lethière. He exhibit ...
. Some of Solon's work came to the attention of the
art director Art director is a title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, live-action and animated film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supe ...
of the Sèvres Pottery. Solon was employed at Sèvres from 1862–70 as a
ceramic A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcela ...
artist and designer and was where he learned and began to perfect the technique of ''
pâte-sur-pâte ''Pâte-sur-pâte'' is a French term meaning "paste on paste". It is a method of porcelain decoration in which a relief design is created on an unfired, unglazed body, usually with a coloured body, by applying successive layers of (usually) white ...
''. His styles were derived from Classical Greece, the Renaissance, 17th- and 18th-century paintings, and Victorian postcards while his subjects often included portraits, female figures, putti (cherubs), small animals, and birds. His early work was produced under the pseudonym ''Miles'', said to be based on his initials ''M L E S.'' A number of these earlier pieces are housed in the
Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...
and in the collection of the former Minton Museum. Solon moved from France to England in 1870 to flee from the
Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...
. He found employment at
Mintons Ltd Mintons was a major company in Staffordshire pottery, "Europe's leading ceramic factory during the Victorian era", an independent business from 1793 to 1968. It was a leader in ceramic design, working in a number of different ceramic bodies, ...
, and settled at Nº1,
The Villas The Villas, Stoke-on-Trent, is an estate of 24 Victorian houses in Stoke-upon-Trent, England. Originally a distinct settlement set in green fields, it now merges with the late 19th- and early 20th-century suburban sprawl along London Road b ...
, Stoke-on-Trent. Mintons had a history of employing foreign artists, starting with their first Frenchman in 1848, the art director Léon Arnoux, followed by other French artists such as the sculptor Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse. While working at Mintons Solon became the leading expert in the
pâte-sur-pâte ''Pâte-sur-pâte'' is a French term meaning "paste on paste". It is a method of porcelain decoration in which a relief design is created on an unfired, unglazed body, usually with a coloured body, by applying successive layers of (usually) white ...
technique. Mintons experienced more demand for ''pâte-sur-pâte'' ceramics than Solon could fulfill on his own so he trained a number of apprentices including
Frederick Alfred Rhead Frederick Alfred Rhead (1856–1933) was a potter working in North Staffordshire, England. He is not to be confused with his son Frederick Hurten Rhead (1880–1942) who was also a potter, and who worked mainly in the USA. His other children incl ...
and Alboin Birks. There ensued a golden age of pâte-sur-pâte in Stoke-on-Trent that stretched into the early years of the 20th century. One of Solon's vases, believed to be his largest, is on display at
Osborne House Osborne House is a former royal residence in East Cowes, Isle of Wight, United Kingdom. The house was built between 1845 and 1851 for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert as a summer home and rural retreat. Albert designed the house in the style ...
. He died at
Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England. It has an estimated population of 259,965 as of 2022, making it the largest settlement in Staffordshire ...
on 23 June 1913.


Gallery

File:Pair of Vases, view 2, Marc-Louis-Emmanuel Solon, Minton factory, England, 1880, porcelain, polychromy, gilding, bronze bases - Mount Holyoke College Art Museum - DSC04600.JPG, Marc-Louis-Emmanuel Solon at
Mount Holyoke College Art Museum The Mount Holyoke College Art Museum (established 1876) in South Hadley, Massachusetts, is located on the Mount Holyoke College campus and is a member of Museums10. It is one of the oldest teaching museums in the country, dedicated to providin ...
File:Plaque with Tree Spirits LACMA AC1995.98.2.1-.2.jpg, Plaque with Tree Spirits, 1880, at
Los Angeles County Museum of Art The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is an art museum located on Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles. LACMA is on Museum Row, adjacent to the La Brea Tar Pits (George C. Page Museum). LACMA was founded in 1961 ...
File:Pair of Vases, view 3, Marc-Louis-Emmanuel Solon, Minton factory, England, 1880, porcelain, polychromy, gilding, bronze bases - Mount Holyoke College Art Museum - DSC04601.JPG, Marc-Louis-Emmanuel Solon at Mount Holyoke College Art Museum File:Annual report of the Philadelphia Museum of Art (1900) (14801548213).jpg, 1900 Annual Report of the
Philadelphia Museum of Art The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA) is an List of art museums#North America, art museum originally chartered in 1876 for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The main museum building was completed in 1928 on Fairmount, a hill located at ...
File:Minton Porcelain Plaque.jpg, Minton Porcelain Plaque designed by Marc-Louis Solon. Circa 1880.


Literary interests

During his early years in Staffordshire Solon collected local pottery. He used the collection as the basis of his 1883 publication, ''The Art of the Old English Potter'', a book about pottery produced before
Josiah Wedgwood Josiah Wedgwood (12 July 1730 – 3 January 1795) was an English potter, entrepreneur and abolitionist. Founding the Wedgwood company in 1759, he developed improved pottery bodies by systematic experimentation, and was the leader in the indu ...
transformed the industry. Other publications include: * ''A History and Description of the old French Faïence'' (London, 1903) * ''A History and Description of Italian Maiolica'' (London, 1907) * ''Ceramic Literature'' (London, 1910) * ''Pottery Worship. The Fallen Idols. A series of detached papers dealing with subjects usually neglected in the general histories of the Ceramic Art; read before the members of the North Staffordshire Literary and Philosophical Society by M.L. Solon. Reprinted by permission of the Executors of the Author'' (London 1928) He also collected books about ceramics and after his death, his library was acquired by the local technical college with funds provided by the
Carnegie United Kingdom Trust The Carnegie United Kingdom Trust is an independent, endowed charitable trust based in Scotland that operates throughout Great Britain and Ireland. Originally established with an endowment from Andrew Carnegie in his birthplace of Dunfermline ...
.


References


External links


Potteries Museum & Art Gallery
Examples of ''pâte-sur-pâte'' are to be found in the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery in
Hanley, Staffordshire Hanley is one of the six towns that, along with Burslem, Longton, Fenton, Tunstall and Stoke-upon-Trent, amalgamated to form the City of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England. The town is the main business, commercial and cultural hub o ...
, whose collection includes items from the former Minton museum. The website has
search facility
which allows you to view images of ''pâte-sur-pâte'' (if you type in the keyword "Solon").
Oxford Art Online entry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Solon, Marc-Louis 1835 births 1913 deaths British book and manuscript collectors British potters Carnegie libraries in England French book and manuscript collectors French emigrants to England French potters People from Montauban Marc-Louis