Earthenware "cherub With Raisins" By Bohumil Rezl - Manufacture De Villenauxe

Cherub with bunches of grapes in white glazed earthenware, by Bohumil REZL, Manufacture de villenauxe Circa 1930 34 cm long x 27cm high 2.5kg The sculptor Bohumil REZL was born on September 17, 1899 in Czechoslovakia. He emigrated to Paris in 1926, from where he began to create models for the Villenauxe factory. Around 1933, he moved to Villenauxe-la-Grande to work in the factory. In 1951, he returned to Czechoslovakia where he died in 1963. Passionate about astronomy, B. Rezl spoke several languages. His production of statuettes is highly sought after today. The Manufacture de Villenauxe was founded in 1856 by Denis Jacob-Gentil and Victor Dubois in Villenauxe-la-Grande, a French town in the Aube department, on the south-western edge of the Champagne-Ardenne region (approx. 70 km to east of Paris). It was initially a porcelain factory which produced mainly religious subjects, in particular statues for churches and ornaments for tombs. In addition, it took advantage of the presence of red clay available nearby to diversify, around 1860, into the production of terracotta statuettes, which could be fired at a lower temperature in the upper part of bottle kilns. Around the 1880s, Villenauxe launched the production of "seaside souvenirs" in terracotta, red or decorated, at the same time as the Isle Adam factory. It also obtains models of classical sculptures made by the Manufacture de Sèvre and products in porcelain biscuit and patinated terracotta. Finally, it was around this time that she began producing original works, which continued until closing time. Villenauxe then established itself as THE French manufacture of sculptures, while the others turned to table service. In 1919, Félix Tessier bought the Manufacture, which he rebuilt and enlarged: it went from fifteen employees in 1919 to 80 in 1939. In 1938, foreseeing the war, he diversified into earthenware, because a white clay of high quality was available locally, whereas the kaolin needed for the porcelain had to be transported from Limoges. Initially, these earthenware were mainly fancy pieces decorated by hand. In 1949, Claude Tessier came to assist his father in the management of the Manufacture. He reorganizes the factory, simplifies and rejuvenates the decorations, begins the production of advertising objects and, in the 1960s, stops the production of terracotta. The factory thus manages to maintain a significant activity (up to 180 employees), while many of its competitors have to close their doors. In 1972, Félix Tessier died and Claude took over the management of the factory on his own, which he brilliantly restructured and kept in operation despite growing difficulties, including the rise in employer charges. But in 1987, he was stricken with an illness: the following year, the Manufacture de Villenauxe had to close its doors and then, in 1994, file for bankruptcy. However, the factory is still there.