55 - HB QUIMPER

HB QUIMPER René BEAUCLAIR (1877–1960) Vase with a flattened, bulging body and a small, straight neck, made of polychrome glazed stoneware and decorated with a frieze of geometric motifs Signed “HB Quimper” on the reverse and numbered Odetta period, circa 1930 H: 20 cm / Diameter: 21 cm Bibliography: Philippe Théallet and Bernard Jules Verlingue, “L’Encyclopédie des céramiques de Quimper,” Volume IV, model reproduced on page 68. René Beauclair (known as Ludovic Jean Joseph Marie Popineau), 1877–1960, was a multifaceted artist: architect, interior designer, ceramicist, ornamental artist, and painter. A prolific artist, he gained fame in the early 20th century through the publication of numerous Art Nouveau-inspired decorative designs. His work was particularly notable during the interwar period. As a painter and decorator, he also created numerous war memorials erected in honor of the victims of World War I. He made a talented contribution to the creation of decorative ceramics for the Odetta factory in Quimper, where he was one of the leading figures. René Beauclair also produced numerous works in Toulouse and the Gaillac region, where none of his creations had been preserved until now. The display of several of his paintings—representative of those he exhibited at the Salons des Indépendants and the Salons des Méridionaux— as well as rare stoneware dishes with Art Deco decorations—characteristic of his work—will allow the Gaillac Museum of Fine Arts to highlight the richness and diversity of his body of work.