1st Edition

Nature and the Nation in Fin-de-Siècle France The Art of Emile Gallé and the Ecole de Nancy

By Jessica M. Dandona Copyright 2017
236 Pages 8 Color & 46 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

236 Pages 8 Color & 46 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

236 Pages 8 Color & 46 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

By the time of his death in 1904, critics, arts reformers, and government officials were near universal in their praise of Art Nouveau designer Emile Gallé (1846–1904), whose works they described as the essence of French design. Many even went so far as to argue that the artist’s creations could reinvigorate France’s fading arts industries and help restore its economic prosperity by defining... Read more

Contents





List of figures
Acknowledgments

Introduction
Object nation: The role of the decorative arts in defining a modern style for France





Chapter One
Carved into the flesh of France: Gallé and the Franco-Prussian War





Chapter Two
Clear water: Japonisme, nature, and the formation of a national style





Chapter Three
Gallé and Dreyfus: A Republican vision





Chapter Four
One for all or all for one? Gallé and the Ecole de Nancy





Conclusion: A fragile legacy 
Works cited
Index

Biography

Jessica M. Dandona is Associate Professor of Liberal Arts at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. She earned her PhD in the History of Art from the University of California at Berkeley. Recent publications include contributions to Picturing Evolution and Extinction (2016) and to Place and Locality in Modern France (2014).

"This fascinating book takes a new look at the artist, arguing his success in redefining 'Frenchness' through his ability to translate the nation into visual form that rendered it legible, all the while keeping away from nationalist rhetoric."

--EuropeNow

"Dandona has done a masterful job of identifying and interpreting archival materials, and she demonstrates consummate skill at interpreting the art works not only through documentation and historical context, but also through careful looking. ...It’s a 'must-read' for anyone interested in late nineteenth-century and early twentieth-century French culture."

--Nineteenth-Century Art Worldwide