The Petit Palais, the Museum of Fine Arts of the City of Paris, was created for the 1900 Universal Exhibition. It is intended to glorify the City of Paris and to celebrate art.
Let us take a moment to look at these jewels from the Petit Palais; let us appreciate the Art Nouveau style, this reaction of the aesthetic spirit of the late 19th century. This Art Nouveau emphasizes the quality of craftsmanship, skill, observation, and craftsmanship.
The jewel is valued for its design and originality; therefore, the creation has more value than the stones that make it up. Fewer diamonds, more fine stones, and the inspiration of nature make ostentatious jewelry seem less important. Art Nouveau transformed the codes of jewelry making.
Shells, opals, amethyst and diamonds. 1899
Georges Fouquet
Nature is glorified, insects like this butterfly, as well as dragonflies, are popular subjects.
It was at his first exhibition in 1899 that Georges Fouquet showed a comb shaped like a butterfly inlaid with opals. And the opal, a stone made of mosaics of changing colors, attracted the jewelers of Art Nouveau.
Or, Emaux, Opales
Georges Fouquet
The flora in its Japanese inspiration, a true muse for jewelers, was a widely used theme and a virtually inexhaustible source of shapes and colors. Collecting plants was then very fashionable. As was Empress Joséphine who loved her garden and her jewels!
Art Nouveau employed many new floral motifs, such as roses, lilies, irises, cyclamens, and fuschia…
Or, enamel plates updated, Diamonds, Pearls and Opals.
Georges Fouquet succeeds his father Alphonse, who had founded a jewelry house in 1860. Georges is driven by new ideas, and under the inspiration of Charles Desrosiers and Alphonse Mucha a fruitful collaboration was born. Desrosiers’ designs are true masterpieces and enable the creation of jewels of unparalleled beauty.
Around 1900 According to Desrosiers
Cornes, cloisonné enamel of gold, diamonds and opals.
Around 1905. Georges Fouquet, after a design by Desrosiers
Corn, enamel, diamonds, pearls. 1905
Or, Emaux updated, Diamonds.
Georges Fouquet according to Desrosiers
These jewels are miniature landscapes, little scenes on a blue enamel sky or even this waterfall that seems to have come out of a fairy tale setting. G. Fouquet’s jewels are often surrounded by a fine line of diamonds, which allows the main motif to be highlighted. The enamels are appreciated for their transparency and delicate colors. The baroque beads, on the other hand, are chosen for their irregularities.
Or, Émaux updated, Opal, Diamond and Baroque Pearl.
Georges Fouquet by Mucha. Around 1900
Or, Émaux plique à jour, Diamonds and Baroque Pearls. Georges Fouquet, after Desrosiers.
Or, Turquoises, Fine Stones and Pearls.
Georges Fouquet by Mucha. Around 1900.
© Wyrnal
G. Fouquet will commend exceptional creations by the Czech painter Mucha, notably for the famous actress Sarah Bernhardt.
Or, Émaux updated, Diamonds, Peridot and Baroque Pearl. Georges Fouquet
With so many creations, we can ask ourselves: will history repeat itself? Art Nouveau was a strong reaction against industrial jewelry that was often of poor quality.
And now, in an era where jewelry too often is a repetition of what we have already seen, are we going to witness a realization, another desire?
www.petitpalais.paris.fr
