Lucien Falize (1838 – 1897) French Goldsmith and Jeweller

Lucien Falize (1838- 1897) was a French goldsmith and jeweller. He was active in Paris and the son of Alexis Falize, father of Andre Falize. When his father retired in 1876, Lucien assumed directorship of the family business, Bapst et Falize. He attempted to expand the business by showing at the 1878 Paris ‘Exposition Universelle’ and becoming partners with Germain Bapst. In 1892, the partnership was dissolved. 

Artistic Career

From 1880 until the turn of the century, distinctive pieces with fine goldwork and enamelling in a japoniste manner were produced by the firm known at the time as Bapst et Falize. In the 1890s, Lucien Hirtz (formerly with Bucheron) became an associate of Lucien Falize. The firm’s wares were shown at the 1878 Paris ‘Exposition Universelle.’ Neo-Renaissance jewellery in the manner of Hans Collaert was shown at the 1889 Paris ‘Exposition Universelle.’ 

Influences

Lucien Falize deeply absorbed the influences of his trips to London in 1861 and 1862. He visited the National Gallery, Westminster Abbey, and the Crystal Palace. The Chinese, Indian, Assyrian, and Egyptian exhibits struck him profoundly. At the International Exhibition, the lacquers, enamels, bronzes, prints, and earthenware from Sir Rutherford Alcock’s collection left a significant impression on him

Due to his connections to the company, Falize could not travel to Japan, but his love for the East started to manifest through his designs. Pendants, bracelets, necklaces, and brooches began to appear with a distinct asian influence. The artists enamelled and packed them with bold, opaque colours and delicate scenes of nature and animals. Lucien also visited the Campana collection at the Louvre, where he looked at various items inspired by the treasures of mediaeval, Renaissance, Assyrian, Egyptian, and Byzantine objects.

Lucien was still making exquisite designs for public sale and private commissions until his death by a stroke in 1897. Determined to make the Falize Jewelry House a commercial success, he partnered with well-established artists like Germain Bapst from 1880 to 1892. He was a prolific writer and critic and frequently appeared in the decorative arts journals of the day under his nickname, ‘Monsieur Josse.’

Active in Union Centrale

Throughout his career, Lucien Falize was also profoundly active in the Union Centrale. He firmly believed in providing potential designers with sufficient training, submitting plans for technical exhibits, and donating working prototypes of chatelaines and bracelet electrotypes. Lucien joined his business in various universal competitions and exhibitions and received several awards and honours during his career.

He was responsible for reviving the basse-taille (painting on translucent enamels over engraved decoration) technique, Lucien experimented with enamels and used cloisonne. 

Source

Arwas, V. (2002). Art nouveau : the French aesthetic. London: Andreas Papadakis. https://amzn.to/3QTJ5iS

Byars, M., & Riley, T. (2004). The design encyclopedia. Laurence King. https://amzn.to/3KihNyR

Tomshinsky, I. (2017). Bracelets Academy: History of Fashion Accessories Series. (n.p.): Xlibris US. https://amzn.to/3QUe12y

Vincent, C., Leopold, J. H., Sullivan, E. (2015). European Clocks and Watches in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. United Kingdom: Metropolitan Museum Of Art.

Wikipedia contributors. (2020, December 15). Lucien Falize. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 20:48, December 19, 2020, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lucien_Falize&oldid=994306429

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