Émile Gallé
French (1846-1904)
Dragonfly coupe, c. 1904
carved and applied glass
Private collection
Photograph, © Christie's Images Ltd.

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Art Nouveau artists were fascinated by the buzzing life of insects, whose life cycle best conveyed the idea of evolution. The dragonfly, a favorite subject in Japanese art, was particularly popular. Here the French artist Émile Gallé portrays one on glass with extraordinary sensitivity. Gallé considered his work to be a "hymn to the glory of Nature and her mysteries." This delicate cup, made in 1904, the year Gallé died, is an excellent example of the lyrical beauty and technical mastery of his glassmaking. Look, for example, at the way that Gallé exploited technical innovations such as the use of multiple layers of colored and carved glass to give the impression of life. The brown wings lie at a deeper level than the transparent set of wings, which seem to vibrate on the translucent body of the cup. And the eyes and slender body rest on top of the surface as if the dragonfly were skirting across a pond.

The only son of a ceramics and furniture manufacturer, Gallé took over his father's business in Nancy in eastern France and soon won international acclaim for his artistic experiments. By the 1890s he had shops in Paris, London, and Frankfurt, and was part of an elite circle that included writer Marcel Proust, actress Sarah Bernhardt, and sculptor Auguste Rodin. New York glass artist Louis Comfort Tiffany so admired his work that he traveled to Nancy to visit Gallé's factory.