Lord of glass, magician, ladies' man, hooligan and lawlessness from the world of jewelry fashion - what epithets were not awarded to Rene Lalique both during his lifetime and many years after his death … His name is a synonym for an amazing worldview reflected in the game colors and light, it is synonymous with unconditional taste, striving for new discoveries, experiments, fearlessness in violation of generally accepted, understandable, but sometimes incredibly boring rules and norms.
Young artist
Paris, late 19th century. Rene works as a simple apprentice in a jewelry workshop. He studies, tries, draws bold sketches, and even then he has no doubt that a great Destiny is destined for him.
Designs of jewelry by Rene Lalique in those days were willingly bought by Boucheron and Cartier. According to the drawings of the young artist, jewelry was made and produced with the stamp of jewelers already known at that time. There was something in Lalique's sketches that was breathtaking: both gusts of wind, and the bronze radiance of dragonfly wings, and the depth of the ocean. Rene always subtly felt a Woman, saw beauty in her, knew what she could fall in love with, onlyone look…
First workshop
Of course, selling sketches did not bring Rene a lot of income. But it was not about money at all - he just wanted to create. And do not create on paper, no! He wanted to cast metal, blow glass, grind and cut, capture beautiful moments and doom them to eternity, like a drop of resin in time immemorial caught a gaping midge, froze and turned into amber.
Lalique opened the first workshop in the center of the world's fashion capital. And they started talking about him, they just began to sing about him. He was worshiped by secular beauties, aristocrats, daughters of the most noble houses of the Old World. In the same measure, he won the hearts of soubrettes, artists, lionesses of the demimonde.
Any woman, putting on a piece of jewelry from Lalique, felt involved in magic. Beetles, fish, snakes - everything from which the muslin ladies once lost consciousness has now turned into an object of desire. And again until fainting.
Lalique sang everything beautiful in his works. Even the insects and reptiles that came out from under his incisor were striking in their refinement, grace, and harmonious proportions.
Breaking stereotypes
Jeweller Rene Lalique defied convention. If he needed a piece of brass or a piece of glass to place accents in a work made of platinum and diamonds, it means that he took it. Framing freshwater pearls in noble metal? Easily! Combine beautiful faceted amethysts with pewter? Please, if you so desire. And while the jewelry elite stared at the insolent indignant glances, the ladies of the wholeEurope cried with delight.
Classic gemstone cut, clean lines, slim composition, fine precious metals? All this, of course, is great, it will live for centuries and someday will be worth millions. But thousands of masters are doing this. And which of them would be able to sing in stone and metal the graceful fragility of a wasp sting? Rene Lalique saw beauty with his heart. Roses, and thorns, and weeds around a rose bush, and caterpillars swarming in foliage, were always equally beautiful for him.
What power does a magician have who forced society ladies to exchange diamonds for glass! This is how Maestro Lalique has always been.
Painted clouds
The red thread through all the work of Rene Lalique is glass and rock crystal. Even as a child, he transferred to paper everything that at least to some extent caught his sharp mind or sensual heart. Not childishly realistic works amazed contemporaries. According to the master himself, only clouds did not succumb to him. He looked at them, understood their nature, admired them … And then glass fell into his hands. Since then, the wish has been granted. It turned out that clouds can be created from crystal and glass.
Passion for glass so overwhelmed the ardent soul of the maestro that he declared publicly that he would no longer work with precious stones, for which he had never been distinguished by love. The women of fashion sobbed and wringed their hands. But the master reassured them, promising to arrange something like a farewell ball - to present a whole collection of jewelryproducts, in which there will be everything: from enamels to diamonds.
At his farewell exhibition in 1912, visitors could not hold back their tears. But how can a magician allow someone to sob uncontrollably? He reassured the fans with the news that his new creation, a collection of perfume bottles, will be released very soon. The best perfumers in Europe lined up on the same day.
Mascots
They say that the most sincere version of flattery is imitation. Lalique began to copy. Someone tried to blindly repeat his work, someone was inspired by his genius and created something completely new and their own. It would seem that this is the limit, this is the peak of glory. But it was not there. Not such a person was Rene Lalique, whose work at that time had already gained worldwide fame. Having played enough with perfumery utensils, the maestro bought a small glass-blowing production and put the business on stream. Do you think that at that moment the words "stamping" and "mass production" appeared in his life? No matter how! Perfume bottles are still produced under the Lalique brand, and even now they are made by hand! That is, each of them is unique in its own way.
Lalique was overwhelmed with a new idea - he started making decorations for … cars. They got the name Mascottes. The famous model "Citroen" Citroen 5CV inspired the master to create a figurine of five horses. With the help of a special backlight, they changed color while driving. A total of 30 such figurines were created, and today they are literally worth their weight in gold.
Architectural experiments
Life does not stand still. Ardent nature demanded continuation. Architecture is the next thing Lalique Rene drew attention to. Photos of his works are striking in scope and flight of unbridled imagination. Yesterday's jeweler worked on a grand scale, as if he had been engaged in interiors all his life.
His most famous works in this industry are the decoration of the elite Orient Express train and the decoration of the halls on the Normandie.
A worthy heir
The Lalique Empire lives on. René Lalique died in 1945. His place was taken by a son - a worthy son of his great father. No less talented and energetic, Mark Lalique preserved and increased his father's legacy. In addition to his innate talent, he also inherited a love for crystal. In his hands, he came to life and filled with light. And the technical mindset allowed Mark to combine art and the latest achievements of scientific progress. His work "Head of a Horse" is a symbol of art of the 50s.
Granddaughter of the great grandfather
Marie-Claude Lalique, who succeeded her father Mark, remained true to the style and sense of beauty inherited from her grandfather. She not only creates jewelry, releases perfumes, but also launched a line of exclusive accessories. For many years perfumery was supplied only for the Nina Ricci house, and the world-famous perfume L'air du temps is considered to be a joint creation of these brands. Marie-Claude launched her own perfume line, Lalique de Lalique. Soon there was another- Nilang de Lalique.
Another of her creations is Bestiaire, a crystal fairy zoo. The great René Lalique would be proud of his granddaughter.
Lalique today
At present, the empire continues to prosper. The best auction houses in the world are chasing masterpieces that came out from under the master's chisel a century ago, setting their prices as high art, which, without a doubt, is everything that Rene Lalique has touched.
His biography inspires writers and screenwriters. And, of course, it gives strength to dreamers and creators who are looking for their own ways in life and in art.
