Lucien Lévy-Dhurmer
Best known today as a Symbolist painter, Lucien Lévy-Dhurmer made an unforgettable impact on France's ceramics revolution through his work with Clément Massier in Golfe-Juan between 1887 and 1895. The two men worked together on innovative shapes, the rediscovery of luster glazes, and the use of luster glazes with etching to bring about fantastically complex effects. Lévy-Dhurmer's decorations were influenced by the prevailing fervor for Japanese, Islamic, and other Near Eastern ceramics but, a Symbolist at heart, he often rejected realism in favor of mysticism and spirituality. His unique contribution was his ability to produce shapes and patterns that seem to shimmer with life, while suggesting deeper meanings.
Lucien Lévy-Dhurmer was born Lucien Lévy in 1865 to a Jewish family in Algiers, the capital of Algeria. He later added the last two syllables of his mother's maiden name (Goldhurmer), perhaps to distinguish himself from Symbolist artist named Leopold Lévy. Algeria had a history of repeated conquests by Muslim and Spanish forces that culminated in colonization by France in 1827. Although in the 19th century Algiers had a sizable population of Jewish craftsmen and merchants, the Jews there and throughout Algeria had been subjected to restrictions and frequent waves of anti-Semitism. They were not considered French citizens until October 24, 1870, when the Cremieux Decree granted full French citizenship to all Jewish male inhabitants. Although the timing and circumstances of Lucien's immigration are not known, the new law would have made the move across the Mediterranean a relatively simple affair.
In 1879 Lucien Lévy, aged 14 and probably living with his parents, began studying lithography, porcelain decoration, ceramics, design, drawing, and sculpture at the Ecole Supérieure de Dessin et de Sculpture in Paris. Only three years later, he showed a small porcelain plaque depicting the Birth of Venus in the highly academic style of Alexandre Cabanel. Presumably he continued his independent career in design until 1887, when he became Clément Massier's artistic director. How the two men came together is not known.
In some cases, Lévy-Dhurmer's patterning suggests life on the cellular level. In other cases, the scope of the décor is much larger. For example in Four Elements Vase, each of four panels is dedicated to one of the four elements, a swallow representing air, a flowering plant for earth, flames for fire, and lobsters for water. The predominantly golden luster glaze is enhanced with a fine brown craquelure. He firmly established his reputation as a potter and decorator at the Salon des Artistes Français in 1895.
During his years in Golfe Juan with Massier, Lévy-Dhurmer found the time to paint. In the same year that he achieved recognition at the Salon des Artistes Français, he left for Paris to begin a career in painting. At around this time he also visited Italy and was influenced by art of the Renaissance.
In 1896, Lévy-Dhurmer exhibited about twenty pastels and paintings at the Galerie Georges Petit under the name Lucien Lévy-Dhurmer. His skill as a portrait painter was recognized and his depictions of the female form, although influenced by the art of Leonardo and the Pre-Raphaelites, were invested with mystery. After 1901, Lévy-Dhurmer moved away from Symbolist content, and began to draw more inspiration from music.
