Marcel Goupy (1886 – 1980) French Ceramicist

Marcel Goupy, born in France in 1886 and died in 1954, got his first training as an architect at the Ecole des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. He was a painter, ceramist, decorator of glass and crystal, and designer. Goupy was known for his Art Deco style and was a Société des Artistes Décorateurs member. He designed furniture, lighting, and decorative objects for prestigious clients like the French ocean liner Normandie.

Biography

He had his studio and resided in Paris. In addition to designing and embellishing sets, he also decorated crystal, glass, earthenware, and porcelain (Théodor Haviland, Belgium). He met Georges Rouard in 1909, for whom he later began designing. For several years, he participated in the Salon d’Automne exhibition and the Contempora exhibition in 1929 in New York. (Marcel Goupy, n.d.) 

In 1914, he made his first works on glass using enamel. His enamel designs on glass were very popular and successful. In 1909, Georges Rouard opened a gallery in the old house La Paix at 34 Avenue de l’Opéra. Marcel Goupy worked with Jules Mabut, and their works together were beautiful. The gallery hired him and other artists like Jean Luce, Auguste Heiligenstein, Maurice Marinot, Henri Navarre, André Thuret, Georges Despret, and Francois-Emile Décorchemont. Auguste Heiligenstein first worked as an assistant to Marcel Goupy.

Rouard Gallery

Goupy stayed connected to the Rouard Gallery for the rest of his life. He also had a permanent show there. After Georges Rouard died in 1929, Marcel Goupy became the gallery’s artistic director. He made a lot of stylised plants and flowers, but he also used enamel to paint animals and people. He made almost tiny enamel paintings that fit the shape of the glass. He improved his skills by working with colour powders and “tonne sur tonne,” which means “two on two.” His work was always interesting and harmonious. He took part in all of the critical events of his time, like the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs, where he was on the jury for the glass section.

Goupy made glass vases, decanters, lemonade, and liqueur sets, some with small enamelled designs and others with elaborate designs that were often enamelled on both the outside and the inside. He hired Auguste Heiligenstein as an assistant, and Heiligenstein put Goupy’s plans into action.  (Arwas, 1997) 

Style

Goupy used bright colours but didn’t go overboard with them like many of the glass of the time, especially some Bohemian glass, which liked to use sharp contrasts. Items from the Art Deco era with pictures of musicians or scenes from a nightclub tend to be more expensive. (Miller, 2014) 

His work is well known worldwide and can be seen in many museums, such as the Musée des Arts Décoratifs (MAD) in Paris.

Collections

• British Museum
• Gallerease.com
• The Met
• V & A

Sources

Marcel Goupy. (n.d.). Gallerease. Retrieved March 18, 2023, from https://gallerease.com/en/artists/marcel-goupy__e5ca62264691

Arwas, V. (1997, November 28). The Art of Glass. In Art Nouveau to Art Deco. https://doi.org/10.1604/9781901092004

Miller, J. (2014, November 25). Miller’s Field Guide: Art Deco. In Art Deco. Mitchell Beazley.

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