273 - Charles Catteau

Charles Catteau Pair of ovoid vases Ceramic with an enameled decoration of cacti in yellow, green, and black on a crackled white background Stamp of the Boch Frères La Louvière factory D12 H32 cm Artistic director of the decorative arts department at Boch Frères in La Louvière from 1907 to 1948, the Frenchman Charles Catteau transformed the Belgian Keramis factory into one of the leading centers of Art Deco ceramics. His stylized floral and faunal designs, outlined in thick enamel on a crackled white background, were acclaimed at the 1925 International Exhibition of Decorative Arts in Paris. The geometric, repeated cactus motif exemplifies this preference for nature simplified into graphic forms.