Description/    

Earthenware vase supporting a barbotine painting on a walnut base

Signature: “A. Lepère”, in lower part of vase

Circa 1875-1878

Resting on a sculpted walnut base, this earthenware vase supports a seascape painted by August Lepère, as attests the signature “A. Lepère” in the bottom part of the painting. Covering the rounded shape of the vase, the painting presents a seamless seaside view full of boats, villages and people. Three distinctive areas give depth to the landscape: the beach, the sea and the sky. Painted in large brush strokes, the painting shows the influence of the newly emerging Impressionist movement. Two lion heads with open mouths but clenched teeth are placed on either side of the vase, like handles. Their dark blue color contrasts with the pastels of Lepère’s composition.

Very delicately carved, the base displays extravagant foliage inhabited by a charming little frog. The size of the vase, the fact that its base was specifically made for it, attests to the amount of work this earthenware masterpiece required.

Louis-Auguste Lepère was born in Paris in 1849. The son of a sculptor, he showed a talent for drawing and became an apprentice in engraver Joseph-Burn Smeeton’s studio. He took free drawing lessons at Lecoq de Boisbaudran’s school and started a career as a painter/engraver. In 1871, in the army he met many artists: Bracquemond, Puvis de Chavanne and Degas and later was very influenced by the Barbizon landscape artists and for a short period of time by the Impressionists. This piece probably dates from that period. Indeed, he worked for the Laurin company in the years 1876 to 1878. Art critiques of the time referred to him as an Impressionist or a Barbizon painter. As a landscape artist he spent much time in the forest of Fontainebleau and on the beaches of Normandy, in Fécamp - town that may have been the inspiration for this vase.

Colored barbotine, the technique used for the vase, was invented by Ernest Chaplet for the Laurin Company, in Bourg la Reine. He created a technique where a painter could paint layers upon layers of paint just like on a canvas. The piece was then fired with a layer of veneer that would protect the painting. The melting paint would slightly blur adding an Impressionistic effect. Many manufactories developed the technique and, while the Impressionists painters took over the world of art, the World’s Fair of 1878 celebrated the works of these companies.