{"id":978,"date":"2015-04-24T18:38:43","date_gmt":"2015-04-24T17:38:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/madelena.com\/blog\/?p=978"},"modified":"2026-02-26T16:28:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T16:28:09","slug":"rene-lalique-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/madelena.com\/blog\/rene-lalique-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Rene Lalique – Madelena perspective"},"content":{"rendered":"

Face, family and factories<\/span><\/h2>\n

This is personal but I love Rene Lalique. He was a genius. His private life was crazy. His output was phenomenal. There was a rumour that he had a twin brother otherwise how else could he have produced\u00a0that number of designs?<\/p>\n

\"Rene
Rene Lalique<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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A sense of his intensity radiates from this photograph.<\/p>\n

No surprise therefore to learn that he once burned down his Paris apartment when molding his first ever perfume bottle at the kitchen stove.<\/p>\n

He made sure to rescue the bottle but lost much of the apartment.<\/p>\n

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Of all\u00a0his\u00a0achievements\u00a0the greatest\u00a0must surely\u00a0be\u00a0the switch from\u00a0one-off masterpieces in jewellery for\u00a0wealthy individuals,\u00a0to mass produced designs in glass\u00a0for all\u00a0manner of everyday and decorative use.<\/p>\n

\"Rene<\/a>
Rene Lalique Factories, France<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At age 48 in 1908 he rented his\u00a0first factory at\u00a0Combs-la-Ville. After the war he built\u00a0a\u00a0factory at \u00a0Wingen-sur-Moder, Alsace. Formerly in German territory, Alsace became French\u00a0after 1918.<\/p>\n

Compared with son Marc and Marc’s daughter Marie-Claude,\u00a0Rene’s new designs each year\u00a0far outnumbered\u00a0their\u00a0combined total. Rene died in 1945, Marc in 1973 and Marie-Claude 2003.<\/p>\n

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\"WWI<\/a>
WWI Royal Irish Rifles, 1916<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The\u00a0war to end all wars\u00a0cost not only\u00a0the lives of sixteen million souls but\u00a0catapulted\u00a0working people into a world of opportunity, responsibility and ownership\u00a0formerly out of range.\u00a0Production\u00a0switched to\u00a0‘war\u00a0and medical’ materials\u00a0until it was resumed in 1919.<\/p>\n

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\"Rene<\/a>
The Lalique Museum, France<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Today\u00a0Lalique is owned by a Swiss company. They have opened a museum dedicated to\u00a0Lalique. The\u00a0museum is located\u00a0where\u00a0he built his\u00a0greatest factory, Wingen-sur-Moder.<\/p>\n

Irrepressible longing for creation<\/span><\/h2>\n

Rene Lalique’s contribution to\u00a0the world of glass\u00a0is quite\u00a0outstanding. Unmatched,\u00a0in our opinion, by any maker before or since. Our great fortune is that\u00a0born in 1860 he would still\u00a0be\u00a0in his prime\u00a0during the first three decades of the 20th century.<\/p>\n

\"Front<\/a>
Front entrance to the Secessionist building, Vienna.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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This era\u00a0of freedoms started with secessionist movements in the art world.
\nThe most obvious of Rene lalique influences can be seen in\u00a0the styles adopted by his son Marc and later his grand-daughter Marie-Claude.<\/p>\n

Less obvious but perhaps more important were his influences on contemporary glass makers’ manufacturing technology.\u00a0The\u00a0technical advances in the industry\u00a0led to a boom in\u00a0pressed glass objects now available at low cost for\u00a0the mass\u00a0market.<\/p>\n

\"Henri<\/a>
Henri Georges and Vera Clouzot, 1953<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Henri Clouzet, French film director of the 1950’s has been quoted as saying “Rene Lalique had the gift of sharing a frisson of new beauty with the world.”<\/p>\n

Nicholas Dawes author of “Lalique Glass”, probably the best book on the subject in the English language, quotes William Morris, a renowned British designer as describing “the irrepressible longing for creation” of Rene Lalique.<\/p>\n

Rene Lalique Art Nouveau<\/span><\/h2>\n

A sensuous\u00a0style\u00a0popular\u00a0before and after the first war.<\/p>\n

\"Record<\/a>
Record price for R Lalique vase.\u00a0Image from a news article\u00a0published\u00a0in the Antiques Trade Gazette.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Objects produced using the cire perdu (lost wax) technique were\u00a0stunning in appearance but expensive to make.<\/p>\n

This fabulous example in the Art Nouveau style was made\u00a0in 1922. The Felix Marcilhac tome identifies\u00a0it as\u00a0Deux Figures Femmes Aill\u00e9es<\/em>. It is the only known example.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0manufacturing technique was to\u00a0carve a master\u00a0in wax. The master was encased in soft clay. The clay mold\u00a0hardens around the wax master. The mold is heated. The wax runs out. Glass is blown into the mold. The\u00a0whole cools. The mold clay\u00a0is\u00a0painstakingly\u00a0picked away from the glass. Each mold\u00a0could be used only once.<\/p>\n

These objects were\u00a0made for exhibitions and special commissions only. Inevitably they have\u00a0become the Holy Grail\u00a0for collectors.<\/p>\n

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\"Lalique<\/a>
R. Lalique Fioret perfume bottle medallion<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

FIORET PARIS medallion<\/span><\/p>\n

At the other end of the value scale is\u00a0this charming medallion. It depicts\u00a0a maiden\u00a0to the front with\u00a0a different pose to the reverse. It\u00a0was manufactured in hundreds for\u00a0the house of FIORET PARIS\u00a0to adorn their perfume bottles and ladies boudoirs.<\/p>\n

This one was introduced in 1924, another design in the art nouveau style. Reference: Marcilhac Fioret 2.<\/p>\n

Rene Lalique Art Deco<\/span><\/h2>\n
\"R.<\/a>
R. Lalique Beautreillis vase or bowl<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Introduced in 1927 this ‘vase’ or footed bowl is in the angular repeated pattern Art Deco style that was the next great fashion\u00a0to follow\u00a0Art Nouveau.<\/p>\n

Ren\u00e9 Lalique Opalescent Glass ‘Beautreillis’ Vase. Etched makers mark, ‘R. LALIQUE FRANCE no.989’. Book reference: Marcilhac 989.<\/p>\n

Beautreillis\u00a0footed bowl\u00a0for sale<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

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\"lalique<\/a>
Ren\u00e9 Lalique Frosted Glass Marcel Franck ‘Perruches’ perfume atomiser<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

More Art Deco. The design of this perfume bottle cleverly retains Lalique’s\u00a0trademark iconic budgerigars. Other names: Love Birds, Perruches (Fr.).<\/p>\n

Introduced in 1929 this frosted glass \u00a0perfume bottle and atomiser was manufactured for the house of Marcel Franck.<\/p>\n

Engraved makers mark, ‘R LALIQUE FRANCE’. Book reference: Marcilhac 5.<\/p>\n

Books<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

More books and publications have been written about the works of Rene\u00a0Lalique than perhaps any other individual artist. They number in thousands. More museums are dedicated to the output of the Lalique\u00a0company\u00a0alone\u00a0<\/em>than any other maker.<\/p>\n

\"R.<\/a>
R. Lalique by Felix Marcillac<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This is the\u00a0standard work cataloguing everything by Rene\u00a0Lalique, available only in the French language. <\/span><\/p>\n

“R. Lalique\u00a0Glass” by Felix Marcilhac<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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You can buy, sell, discover\u00a0Lalique on our website.<\/p>\n

Rene\u00a0Lalique masterpieces in glass for sale\u00a0on this link
\nWorld\u2019s largest online gallery of RENE LALIQUE glass\u00a0<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

With apologies to everyone who knows better we have used the spelling Rene in place of the correct French spelling Ren\u00e9 throughout. We hope you have enjoyed reading our introduction to one of the world’s greatest artistic designers.<\/p>\n

More\u00a0on manufacture, marks, polishing and alteration,\u00a0forms and functions and the universal appeal of Rene Lalique glass\u00a0will follow in later blogs.\u00a0We will never tire of this man’s works or his story.<\/p>\n