Baccarat: Pair Of Large Opaline Vases With Floral Decoration, By Jean-françois Robert

A pair of white opaline ‘bulle de savon’ baluster vases, beautifully painted with bouquets of flowers, the necks adorned with twisted glass.

Work of the Baccarat factory between 1835 and 1845, Louis-Philippe period, decoration of the workshops of Jean François Robert.

Condition: Very good, free of damage.

Measures: 33cm high; Width across the rim: 13cm; Width of the body at the widest point: 2.5cm.

Provenance: Important European collection.

Literature:
Similar models reproduced in the works of Yolande Amick and Christine Vincendeau.

Artist:
Jean François Robert (1778 - 1870)
Landscape painter at the Royal Manufactory of Sèvres, born in Chantilly in 1778. At the age of fourteen, he won first prize at the free school in Chantilly, founded by the Prince of Condé. Some time later, he became a pupil at the porcelain factory there. On his return from the army in 1807, he was admitted simultaneously to M. de Marne's school and to the porcelain factory at Sèvres. There, he followed the Emperor's hunts and executed them on porcelain. In 1812, he exhibited several paintings at the M.R. which were bought by the Empress Marie-Louise and Grand Duchess of Tuscany, who hired him as a landscape painter.

Robert was awarded a medal at this exhibition.
Shortly afterwards, he left for Florence, where he composed new paintings for the Grand Duchess. In 1814, he returned to France and exhibited Une vue de St. Cloud, prise de la butte de M. Pujeol. In 1819, he worked for various important patrons of his day including Elisa Bacciocchi, Grand Duchess of Tuscany and sister of Napoleon, and for the Duke and Duchess of Berry.

His work with glass was also significant, when in 1837/8 he patented a new technique for painting colours and gold onto the surface of glass objects. At this time he left the porcelain company and set up his own workshop at Sèvres to pursue the art of decorating glass vessels and windows. He was the principal decorator of opaline glass of this type. Such was his skill, that all the major glass manufacturers commissioned his work including Baccarat and Saint Louis. He retired in 1855 at the age of 73.

Major museums such as the Victoria & Albert Museum, and the Corning Museum of Glass have similar pieces attributed to Jean-François Robert within their collections.