Emile Galle is worldwide known for its glass. In this article Mrs Tiny Esveld wants to show the different types of Galle glass.  All these examples of vases were or are for sale in the gallery Tiny Esveld, In Rijkevorsel in Belgium.

Emile Galle. Dreamer and poet

A lot has been written about Emile Galle. Books are filled with facts about his date of birth, his death and everything in between and there is no value in repeating it all. Galle was a nerd. He liked to study, living in his own world with a lot of books around him. He occupied himself with literature and botany. He wasn’t really loved by his fellow students and they broke his spectacles at school when he was young. Emile was a “mummy’s little boy” and he felt the rest of the world was against him. He travelled a lot as a young man, studying in Weimar, but he sufferred from homesickness. He went to exhibitions in Great Britain and France to represent his father, spoke several languages and saw a bit of the world. He was a scholar but the thing he liked best was to draw. He was creative and had a vivid imagination.

In 1877 he took over his father ’s ceramic and glass enterprise as owner and artistic director. He was the great inspirer and won one prize after another. Everyone recognized the genius of Emile Galle but he never blew the glass himself. Galle made the designs and oversaw the quality but his workmen made the objects. The production was industrialized and his dream was that everyone would enjoy the beauty of art pieces. In his home he surrounded himself with his own vases, furniture and ceramics. Galle loved his own objects and he made furniture to exhibit his vases. Emile’s world had to be in harmony. His house La Garenne was surrounded by a garden, in which he grew the plants he studied. Nature was his inspiration and art nouveau is all about nature. Plants and animals are portrayed in their natural colours and dimensions. On some vases Galle added a poem. These are known as “ Vase parlante” or “Talking” vase, a vase with a message. His best works are the marqueterie vases. Hot pieces of glass are applied on the surface of a vase to make the decoration. The hot vase is then rolled over a marble stone so the applied pieces are embedded. The narcis vase is a great example of this technique. Foto 24.

Galle was a man with a mission he wanted to make the world more beautiful. In 1901 together with his competitors Daum and Majorelle, he founded the school of Nancy. Galle did not like Daum and Majorelle, he thought they copied his work, but the artists of Nancy had to work together because the influence of art objects from foreign countries was growing bigger and bigger. Galle died in 1904 at the age of 58 leaving us a legacy of objects beyond comparison. He was the greatest art nouveau artist. Art nouveau finished with the death of Galle.