Emile Galle

Happy Birthday Emile Galle!! The French glassmaker was born in 1846 and a leading artist in the Art Nouveau movement. His work was naturalistic, original and experimental. He introduced metal foil, air bubbles and etching through two or more fused colors (cameo glass). Apart from his art, Galle has been termed a “humanist” who arranged evening schools for the average workingman; spoke out against genocide and prejudice. He founded a workshop employing 300 workers to produce his and other artists’ glasswork. The vases below lead us to understand why his work has been termed “poetry in glass”.