Lucien Levy Dhurmer was a French ceramicist; born in Algiers. He studied painting, lithography, design, and ceramics at the Paris municipal school of drawing and sculpture. He was a ceramicist 1887-95 while working at Clement Massier’s factory at Golfe-Juan as its artistic director. At the 1882 salon in Paris, he showed his copy on porcelain of Cabanel’s painting La Naissance de Venus.
Levy-Dhurmer may have been responsible for the rediscovery of the metallic lustre glaze technique used in Middle Eastern ceramics from the 9th century and in Hispano-Moresque pottery of the 15th century. However, the sheen on pieces by Massier and Levy-Dhunner has not lasted. He used primarily light-coloured earthenware with gold highlights and sombre-glazed stoneware.
His forms were both elaborate and straightforward in the Islamic style. The painted or modelled decorations usually depicted typical Art Nouveau images. His interest in painting was revived during a trip to Italy in 1895. After 1900 he travelled throughout Europe and North Africa, particularly the Mediterranean coast, painting landscapes and doing figure studies.
For a private home on Champ de Mars 1910-14, he painted murals and designed furniture and panelling for the living room, dining room, and library. He showed his work at the Salons des Artistes francais from 1882, Salons of the Societe Nationale des Beaux-Arts from 1897, and Salons d’Automne from 1930.
Sample of Works
Sources
Byars, M., & Riley, T. (2004). The design encyclopedia. Laurence King Publishing.