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

Pottery in the ‘Persian Style’

Edmond Lachenal (1855 – 1948) was a French sculptor and ceramicist. He was born in Paris and was Raoul Lachenal’s father.

Training

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. 

Lachenal won his first gold medal at the 1889 Paris World’s Fair for his work with faience wares in the Theodore Deck style. These works feature bright, polychrome glazes, a recurring theme in his work throughout his career. He collaborated with Keller of Guérin on experiments with metallic lustre glazes. 

Collaborations with Sculptors

He exhibited the results alongside ceramic sculptures inspired by Rodin, Fix-Masseau, Epinay, Madrassi, and Sarah Bernhardt Galerie Georges Petit in Paris. 

His most well-known collaboration was with Agnès de Frumerie (1869–1937), a Swedish-born sculptor. She created Symbolist figurative sculptures and vase decorations. Their collaboration lasted at least until 1907. Additionally, Lachenal created faience editions of Hector Guimard’s vases in the same organic style as the Paris Metro entrances in 1902.

He became interested in enamelled glass and began working for Daum in Nancy. At the time, his vase forms were inspired by fashionable plant motifs. He specialized in small figurines and animal forms and handed over his studio to his son Raoul Lachenel and his wife at the turn of the twentieth century.

Exhibitions

Since 1884, his work has been exhibited annually at Galerie Georges Petit and the Paris ‘Exposition Universelle’ in 1900. (suite of stoneware furniture).

Sources

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

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Persian Style Ceramics