Art Nouveau enamelled lava

Eugène Gillet is a French artist best known for his work in enamelled lava, a lesser-used technique whose expertise is historically linked to the family business founded by his father, François Gillet (1822-1889). The Gillet company always stood out for its many innovations - responding both to industrial orders and to the production of decorative pieces. A true pioneer, in 1882 François Gillet perfected the technique known as ‘reconstituted lava’ - which enabled the creation of plates sculpted in high relief with fine enamelling and certain lighting effects, which attracted the attention of the architect Hector Guimard (1867-1942). Guimard then turned to his successor, Eugène Gillet, to create modern enamelled lava to decorate his many architectural projects. Although this collaboration between Guimard and Gillet only involved a limited number of models, the meeting between the two designers over this very specific material was decisive. Trained at the École des Beaux-Arts, Eugène Gillet developed his own innovative, high-quality production of enamelled lava panels, which were at times inspired by the curves and counter-curves characteristic of the famous architect and major player in French Art Nouveau.