Since the 1990s, the archives in the Petit Palais in Paris have collected an unusual collection: thousands of drawings of jewelry designs, many of which are rarely and never shown in France.
The collection, which has more than 5,500 sketches and gouaches, a method of painting using opaque colors, includes creations from French designers such as René Lalique for jewelry houses, including Cartier and Boucheron.
“I have never been asked about these drawings, and I realize that it is because nobody knows they are here,” said Clara Roca, the courator of the exhibition.
That should change with “Jewelry designs: secrets of the creation,”An exhibition planned from Tuesday to 20 July, with around 350 items, including around 235 drawings from the middle of the 19th to the mid -20th century (tickets are 12 euros or about $ 13, for adults; the museum orders a time -ditch)))
“In principle, we can tell every step of the process of a jewelry designer, and that is what we are going to tell with this exhibition“ said Mrs. Roca, who specializes in graphic art and photography after 1800 in the museum.
The first two sections of the exhibition will explore the inspiration of the designers, with studies made of nature or items in museums, as well as the drawing process. Work by designers such as Charles Jacqueau, a master from the early 20th century who often got inspiration from Islamic art, must be recorded. Jacqueau spent most of his career with Cartier, but some of his designs “are so erratic,” said Mrs. Roca: “You can just see that it would not work for Cartier at all.”
The third part of the display emphasizes the importance of drawings for the craftsmen – modelers, engravers, jewelers, polishing machines and others – who have carried out designs. “Usually there is nothing for all people in the workshop to work out, except the drawing,” said Mrs. Roca.
For example the Sycamore PendantA piece in the Kunstnouveau style made with diamonds, peridots and a baroque pearl between 1905 and 1910 by Georges Fouquet, must be displayed next to the drawing.
The fourth and final section is to assess the drawings as artworks, which reflects the artistic skills of the designers. For example, some draw on both sides of transparent paper, giving the drawings color and depth.
There is “this incredible liveliness and creates the illusion of pink gold or white gold or other colors thanks to the materiality of the paper itself,” said Mrs. Roca.
Others would use tricks to give the designs extra sparkle. Although the Convention of the Jewelry Industry is to draw a jewel as if the light source is in the top left corner of the paper, a drawing from 1910 of a emerald green chain shows a second, orange -tinted light source from the right corner by Raymond Subes. “It gives the drawing such a different level, such a life,” said Mrs. Roca. “It’s just so hot, and so present.”
Many of the designs in the exhibition were never really produced, she said, and some of those who might have been destroyed, lost or reset their jewels. So in some cases, she said, the drawing “The last witness of this wonderful creation can be.”
