Emile Galle- Dreamer and Poet

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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's no value in repeating it all. 
Galle was a nerd. He liked to study literature and botany, lived in his own world with a lot of books around him. He travelled a lot as a young man, he studied one year in Weimar, but he sufferred from homesickness. He saw a bit of the world going to exhibitions in Great Britain and France to represent his father, spoke fluently German and. He was a scolar but the thing he liked best was botany. 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 the other. 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 “ Vases parlants” or “Talking” vase. A vase with a message.
His best work are the marqueterie vases. Hot pieces of glass are applied on the surface of the piece( 'marqueterie affleurante") or incorporated inside the glass by rolling over a steel table("marqueterie pénétrante")  The "Veilleuses" vases are great examples of this technique.

Galle was a man with a mission. He wanted to make the world more beautiful. In 1901 he founded the school of Nancy, together with his competitors Daum and Majorelle. 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 growing more and more.
In 1904 Galle died at the age of 58. He left us a legacy of objects beyond compare. He was the greatest art nouveau artist. Art nouveau in Nancy finished with the death of Galle.