DESIGN

• Japonisme


  Wave of Japanese art and design that swept through Europe in the 1890s
• Dragonfly


  Symbol common in Japanese artwork, used as main inspiration by Lalique
• Arts and Craft movement

  • Rejected the divide between fine art and decorative arts
  • Influenced Lalique's view that jewellery should be a piece of creative art, not just a display of wealth/gemstones
• Lalique was influenced by

  Themes and techniques of Renaissance art
• Piqué-a-jour


  Technique used by Lalique, involving soldering individual gold wires and adding enamel, to mimic the translucent delicate wings of a dragonfly
• Symbolism


  Art movement that believed art should reflect an idea rather than recreate exactly what you see, which influenced Lalique's 'Dragonfly corsage'
• Lalique's material choices


  • Based on colour, using harmonious shades of green, blue and gold to create a striking, elegant piece
• Lalique's use of black enamel


  • Helps balance the soft naturalistic greens and warm golds, creating a pretty but menacing visual impact
• Lalique's colour palette


  • Limited, dominating use of harmonious greens, soft blues and warm gold, helps create unity between the different ideas in the piece
• Title


  Dragonfly-woman' corsage ornament
• Creator


  René Lalique
• Date Created


  c. 1897-98
• Physical Dimensions


  • H. 23 x W. 26.5 cm
• Medium


  Gold, enamel, chrysoprase, chalcedony, moonstones and diamonds
• Lalique's design


  Targeted at the wealthy upper class
• Lalique's design


  • One-off handmade piece
  • Unique design
  • Precious materials
  • High labour costs
• Lalique's target audience


  The wealthy, possibly to wear as status symbols
• Target audience for the Dragonfly Corsage

  Female or feminine person
• Dragonfly Corsagestyle


  • Elegant curves of the dragonfly's wings
  • Creates a delicate, feminine style
• Lalique's target market


  The rich and famous
• Lalique's target market


  • Art Nouveau style of the corsage
  • Considered modern and innovative at the time
  • Actress Sarah Bernhardt famously wore Lalique's jewellery designs
• Target market of the corsage

  Confident individuals
• Dragonfly Corsage


  • Naked female bust
  • Large scale of the piece (23 x 26.5)
  • Imagery was considered daring in the Victorian period
• Dragonfly Corsage's appeal


  Older audiences today
• Dragonfly Corsage


  • Subtle greens and blues
  • Understated elegant pattern on the wings
  • Relatively traditional by contemporary standards
• Lalique was influenced by the wave of Japonisme that swept through Europe in the 1890s
• Lalique used the dragonfly, a symbol which is common in Japanese artwork, as his main inspiration
• Lalique's piece 'Dragonfly corsage' shows the influences the arts and craft movement had on his work
• Arts and craft movement's principles

  • Rejected the divide between fine art and the decorative arts of design
  • Jewellery should not merely be a method to display wealth/gemstones but a piece of creative art
• In 'Dragonfly corsage' Lalique was influenced by both the themes and the techniques of Renaissance art
• Lalique's use of Renaissance influences

  • Boldly used the naked female form as a means of ornamentation
  • Reintroduced the piqué-a'-jour technique for the wings, having been used during the Renaissance but had been virtually forgotten
• From the 1880's to the WW1, the upper class in France had lots of disposable income to spend on desirable goods such as Lalique jewellery
• Lalique was able to use time costly methods such as plique-a-jour and pass on costs to his target market due to their wealth
• Lalique was influenced by the art movement Symbolism
• Symbolists' beliefs


  Art should reflect an idea rather than recreate exactly what you see
• In his 'Dragonfly corsage' Lalique recreated some elements of the dragonfly in a naturalistic way and some in a symbolic way
• Colours used in the Dragon Fly Corsage

  • Harmonious shades of green and blue
  • Moonstone, enamel and chrysoprase
  • Translucent delicate wings
• Lalique's material choices


  • Yellow gold contrasts the cool green chrysoprase body
  • Blue moonstories, and green small chysophase gemstone are frame within the gold tail
  • Creates a striking piece that catches the viewers eye
• Use of black enamel


  • Dotted across the piece
  • In the women's ornate buns, fine lines on the claws, and surrounding the diamond border
  • Helps balance the soft naturalistic greens and warm golds, creating a pretty but menacing visual impact
• Lalique's colour palette


  • Limited dominating colours
  • Harmonious greens, soft blues and warm gold
  • Helps create unity between the different ideas such as woman, realistic wings and oversized claws