Alexandre Bigot (1862 – 1927) French Ceramicist

Alexandre Bigot (1862-1927) was a french ceramics manufacturer. He was initially a physics and chemistry teacher. 

Biography

In 1889 he visited the Exposition Universelle in Paris, where he saw Chinese porcelain with opaque glazes that enhanced the ground colours and emphasised the forms of the body. He transferred this technique to stoneware, a less expensive material that has the advantage of being able to withstand significant variations of temperature when fired. In this way, with one type of ceramic body, it is possible to vary the degree to which enamels are fused to obtain dull, oily or crystalline finishes in the greatest possible variations of colour.

Bowl (1895) by Alexandre Bigot (V & A)

The catalogue produced by Bigot’s firm in 1902, Les Gries de Bigot, placed the greatest value on one-off, made to order objects, which were fired directly from clay models without passing through a casting stage. This was the procedure he followed for the windows, door, door frames and balcony of 29 Avenue Rapp, Paris, designed by Jules Lavirotte (1864-1924). Bigot concluded that it was no more expensive to decorate a facade with high-fired stoneware than it was to do so with sculpted stone. Furthermore, by this method, one obtained everlasting colours.

Vase ca. 1895 by Alexandre Bigot (V & A)

He embellished numerous buildings, both inside and out, with ornaments in fired stoneware, including the Villa Majorelle (1898) in Nancy by Henri Sauvage (1873-1932) and in Paris, Castel Beranger (1894-95) by Hector Guimard (1867-1942), the church of St. Jean (1897-1904) in Montmartre by Anatola de Baudot (1834-1915) and the block of flab (1903) at 25, Rue Franklin by Auguste Perret (1874-1954). He also mass-produced objet d’ art, vases and statues, from bathtubs to teapots and such architectural ornaments as friezes, tiles, decorative bosses and balusters, based on the designs of the greatest architects associated with the Art Nouveau style. Bigots firm in Rue des Petites Eanes, Paris, closed in 1914.

Recognition

In 1894, the first pieces (simple forms with yellow, green and brown matt glazes) were shown. He received first prize at 1900 Paris ‘Exposition Universelle‘ for his animal frieze, based on the designs of Paul JHouve, installed at the exhibition’s colossal gateway. His work was also shown at Salon d’Automne.

Design Store

Sources

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

Campbell, G. (2006). The Grove Encyclopedia of decorative arts. Oxford University Press.

More French Ceramics

  • Edmond Lachenal (1855 – 1948), French Sculptor and Ceramicist

    Edmond Lachenal (1855 – 1948), French Sculptor and Ceramicist

    Lachenal joined Théodore Deck’s studio in 1870 and later became director. He established his studio in Malakoff, near Paris, in 1880 and Chatillon-sous-Bagneux, France, in 1887. He decorated his pottery with stylized figures, landscapes, greenery, and flowers in the ‘Persian style’ influenced by Deck. Read More →

  • Jean Carriès (1855 – 1894) French Sculptor and Ceramicist

    Jean Carriès (1855 – 1894) French Sculptor and Ceramicist

    Jean Carriès was a French sculptor and ceramicist who expressed his subjects through unconventional approaches that deviated from mainstream academic conventions. Jean Carriès discovered the art of pottery and embraced it, using wax and terracotta to create unique shapes and vivid glazes.Read More →

  • A Closer Look at Haviland, a French Porcelain Factory

    A Closer Look at Haviland, a French Porcelain Factory

    Haviland was a French porcelain factory founded by American David Haviland in 1843 and operated until 1914. The Haviland family were skilled entrepreneurs and dedicated to their employees’ welfare, with a special fund to aid soldiers and their families, a mutual support fund, an association, social housing, and a programme for kids’ vacations.Read More →

  • Marcel Goupy (1886 – 1980) French Ceramicist

    Marcel Goupy (1886 – 1980) French Ceramicist

    Marcel Goupy was a painter, ceramist, decorator of glass and crystal, and designer known for his Art Deco style. Marcel Goupy was an important figure in the Art Deco era, making glass vases, decanters, and lemonade and liqueur sets.Read More →

  • Émile Diffloth (1856 – 1933) French ceramicist

    Émile Diffloth (1856 – 1933) French ceramicist

    In 1899, he became artistic director of Kéramis, Belgian pottery owned by Boch Freres in La Louviere. In c1910, he moved to University City, Missouri, to work for Taxile Doat as a ceramics teacher at the School of Ceramic Art. He went back to France. He belonged to the Société des Artistes Françaises.Read More →

  • Lucien Levy Dhurmer (1865 – 1953) a French Ceramicist

    Lucien Levy Dhurmer (1865 – 1953) a French Ceramicist

    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. Read More…

  • Ernest Chaplet (1835 – 1909) French ceramicist and studio potter

    Ernest Chaplet (1835 – 1909) French ceramicist and studio potter

    Ernest Chaplet (1835 – 1909) was a French ceramicist, an early studio potter’ who mastered slip decoration, rediscovered stoneware, and conducted copper-red studies. From 1882 to 1885, he was the director of Charles Haviland’s workshop to study decorative processes, where he collaborated with artists such as Paul Gauguin. He eventually moved to Choisy-le-Roi, where he…

Comments are closed, but trackbacks and pingbacks are open.