Lampion Shaped Vase From The Odetta Period By René Beauclair - Manufacture Hb Quimper - Brittany

HB Quimper Manufacture. Polychrome sandstone, circa 1930 from the Odetta period. Height 30 cm.

René Beauclair (1877-1960)'s baptismal name is Ludovic-Jean-Joseph-Marie POPINEAU. He is in turn an architect, decorator, ceramist, sculptor, painter. This southern artist who lives in Toulouse, Castelnau de Montmiral, made his reputation thanks to the publication of decorative models in the art nouveau style at the beginning of the 20th century. He produced enormously between the wars. Painter and decorator, he is also the author of numerous monuments to the dead of the Great War. He participated with talent in the production of decorative ceramics for Odetta in Quimper in the 1930s. He is one of the most prolific artists of the Odetta period. He creates numerous works in Toulouse and in the Gaillac region. It is present at the Gaillac Museum of Fine Arts as well as at the Quimper Earthenware Museum.

The Odetta period (1925-1936) draws its inspiration from the primitivism which infiltrated all artistic fields in the 1925s. The Celtic origins of the Bretons have always been indicated in their art by decorative signs whose geometry is reminiscent of that found in African and Oceanian arts. The HB house chose stoneware for Odetta, which it skillfully enamelled with dark gray and blue colors, contrasting with the softness of celadon greens, ivory whites, or even the luminous shine of gold. To differentiate these works from classic production, they were produced from 1925 under the ODETTA brand (Ateliers de l'ODET). Many earthenware manufacturers then resort to the use of additional brands so as not to rush a conservative clientele who may be shocked by the novelty of abstract decorations. They call on artists, some of whom are already known. Among them, let us cite here Georges Brisson, Alphonse Chanteau, Louis Garin, René Olichon, Georges Renaud, Paul Fouillen, Abadie Landel... The Toulouse René Beauclair seems to be the most prolific decorator of ODETTA. This artist is already known for wallpapers characteristic of art nouveau, for creations of jewelry, furniture, wrought iron and paintings.