René Lalique: photos, work, sketches of ornaments

The lord of glass, the magician, the ladies' man, the hooligan and the bespredel'shchik from the world of jewelry fashion - what epithets Rene Lalik never received when he was alive, and many years after his death ... His name is a synonym for an amazing world outlook reflected in the play of colors and light , It is a synonym for unconditional taste, the desire for new discoveries, experiments, fearlessness before the violation of the generally accepted, all understandable, but sometimes incredibly boring rules and norms.

Young artist

Paris, the end of the XIX century. Renee works as a simple apprentice in a jewelry shop. She studies, tries, draws bold sketches and already does not doubt that he has a great destiny for him.

Sketches of jewelry Rene Lalique in those days willingly bought up Busheron and Cartier. According to the drawings of the young artist, jewelry was made and issued with the stamp of jewelers known at that time. There was something in the sketches of Lalique, from which breathtaking: the gusts of wind, the bronze glow of the dragonfly's wings, and the depth of the ocean. Rene always subtly felt a Woman, saw in her beautiful, knew what she could fall in love with, only once glancing ...

First workshop

Of course, the sale of sketches did not bring Rene a large income. But it was not money at all - he just wanted to create. And do not write on paper, no! He wanted to cast metal, blow glass, grind and grind, catch wonderful moments and doom them for eternity, as a drop of resin in times immemorial caught the midge, stopped and turned into amber.

Lalik opened the first workshop in the center of the world's fashionable capital. And they started talking about him, they just started to chant him. He was worshiped by secular beauties, aristocrats, daughters of the most aristocratic houses of the Old World. In the same way, he conquered the hearts of subreets, artists, lionesses of the half-light.

Any woman, wearing an ornament from Lalique, felt herself involved in magic. Beetles, fish, snakes - everything, from what the muslin girls once lost consciousness, has now become the object of lust. And again to fainting.

Lalique sang in his works everything beautiful. Even the insects and reptiles that emerged from under his incisor were struck by refinement, grace, harmonious proportions.

Destroying stereotypes

Jeweler Rene Lalique neglected the generally accepted norms. If he needed a piece of brass or a glass for the emphasis in the work of platinum and diamonds, then it was he who took it. Framing in a noble metal river pearls? Easily! Combine the beautiful faceted amethyst with tin? Please, if you want. And while the jeweler elite stared at the insolent woman with indignant glances, the young ladies of all Europe wept with delight.

Classical cut of precious stones, smooth lines, slender composition, fine noble metals? All this, of course, is great, it will live centuries and someday it will cost millions. But thousands of masters are engaged in this. And who of them would have been able to sing in the stone and metal the graceful fragility of the aspen sting? Rene Lalique saw the beauty of the heart. For him, roses, thorns, and weeds were always equally beautiful around the rose bush, and caterpillars swarming in the foliage.

What power is possessed by the magician, who made secular ladies exchange diamonds for glass! It was always like this that Maestro Lalique was.

Drawn clouds

Red thread through all the works of René Lalique passes glass and rock crystal. Even as a child, he carried on paper everything that at least to some extent caught his sharp mind or sensual heart. Not child-like realistic works amazed contemporaries. According to the master himself, he did not give in to the clouds. He looked at them, understood their nature, admired them ... And then the glass came into his hands. Since then, the desire has been satisfied. It turned out that from the crystal and glass you can create clouds.

The passion for glass so overwhelmed the ardent soul of the maestro that he declared publicly that he would no longer work with precious stones, the love of which he was never so fond of. Fashionable women sobbed and wrung their hands. But the master reassured them, promising to arrange something like a farewell ball - to present a whole collection of jewelry, in which everything will be: from enamels to diamonds.

At his farewell exhibition in 1912, visitors could not hold back tears. But how can a wizard admit that someone sobs sobs? He reassured the fans with the news that his new creation, a collection of perfume bottles, would be published very soon . The best perfumers of Europe stood in line on the same day.

Mascots

They say that the most sincere version of flattery is imitation. Lalique began to copy. Someone tried to blindly repeat his work, someone was inspired by his genius and created something completely new and his own. It would seem that this is the limit, this is the peak of glory. But it was not there. Not such a man was Renee Lalique, whose work at that time had already gained worldwide fame. After a lot of playing with perfume crockery, the maestro bought a small glass blowing plant and put the case on stream. Do you think, at that moment, the words "punching" and "mass production" appeared in his life? No matter how it is! Under the brand "Lalique", perfume bottles are still produced, and even now they are made by hand! That is, each of them is unique in its own way.

Lalique was overwhelmed by a new idea - he began making jewelry for ... cars. They got the name Mascottes. Citroen's famous Citroen 5CV model inspired the master to create a five-horse figure. With the help of special illumination, they changed color during the ride. In total, 30 such figures were created, and today they stand in the literal sense of gold.

Architectural experiments

Life does not stand still. The ardent nature demanded continuation. Architecture is the next thing Lalique Rene drew attention to. Photos of his works amaze with the scope and flight of an unrestrained fantasy. Yesterday's jeweler worked on a grand scale, as if he had been engaged in interiors all his life.

His most famous works in this industry: finishing the elite train Orient Express and decoration of the halls on the ship "Normandy".

A worthy heir

The Lalique empire continues to live. René Lalique died in 1945. His place was taken by his son - a worthy son of his great father. No less talented and energetic, Mark Lalik preserved and multiplied his father's heritage. In addition to innate giftedness, he was given a love of crystal. In his hands he revived and filled with light. And the technical mindset allowed Mark to combine art and the latest achievements of scientific progress. His work "The Head of the Horse" - a symbol of art of the 50's.

The granddaughter of the great grandfather

Marie-Claude Lalique, who succeeded her father Mark, remained faithful to the style and sense of beauty inherited from her grandfather. It not only creates jewelry, produces perfume, but also launched a line of exclusive accessories. For many years, perfumery dishes were supplied only for the house "Nina Ricci", and the world-famous spirits L'air du temps are rightfully considered a joint creation of these brands. Marie-Claude launched her own line of perfumes - Lalique de Lalique. Soon there was one more - Nilang de Lalique.

Another of her creations is Bestiaire, a crystal fairy zoo. The great René Lalique could be proud of his granddaughter.

Lalique today

At present, the empire continues to flourish. The best auctions of the world are chasing after the masterpieces that came out from under the master's cutter a century ago, setting prices on them as high-art objects, which, without a doubt, is everything that Rene Lalik touched.

His biography inspires writers and screenwriters. And, of course, gives power to dreamers and creators who are looking for their ways in life and in art.