La Lorraine Artiste - Nature, Industry, and the Nation in the Work of Émile Gallé and the École de Nancy - Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation

Aug 24, 2026

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My dissertation explores how art and politics intersect in the career of 19th-century French designer Émile Gallé. It argues that arts reformers in fin-de-siècle France treated decorative material culture as a means to educate public taste and advance Republican values, shaping national subjects. Focusing on Gallé’s glass and wood, it traces how the Exposition Universelle of 1889, the Dreyfus Affair, Japanese art, and the École de Nancy informed his Symbolist style and his effort to redefine Frenchness and the cultural meaning of the decorative arts.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages631

Reading Time26 h 30 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Object Nation: The Role of the Decorative Arts in Defining a Modern Style for France

Prologue: Requiem

The Politics of Arts Reform

Chapter 1. Carved Into the Flesh of France: Gallé and the Franco-Prussian War

Chapter 2. The Franco-Russian Alliance: Unity and Memory

Chapter 3. Poetry in Glass: The Evolution of a Symbolist Aesthetic

Chapter 4. The Anxiety of Influence: Japonisme, Nature, and the Formation of a National Style

Chapter 5. Gallé and Dreyfus: A Republican Vision

Chapter 6. One for All, or All for One? Gallé and the École de Nancy

Conclusion

Works Cited

La Lorraine Artiste: Nature, Industry, and the Nation in the Work of Émile Gallé and the École de Nancy By Jessica Marie Dandona A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History of Art in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Professor Darcy Grimaldo Grigsby, Chair Professor Anne Wagner Professor Andrew Shanken Spring 2010 Copyright © 2010 by Jessica Marie Dandona All rights reserved Abstract La Lorraine Artiste: Nature, Industry, and the Nation in the Work of Émile Gallé and the École de Nancy by Jessica Marie Dandona Doctor of Philosophy in History of Art University of California, Berkeley Professor Darcy Grimaldo Grigsby, Chair My dissertation explores the intersection of art and politics in the career of 19th-century French designer Émile Gallé . It is commonly recognized that in fin-de-siècle France, works such as commemorative statues and large-scale history paintings played a central role in the creation of a national mythology. What has been overlooked, however, is the vital role that 19th-century arts reformers attributed to material culture in the process of forming national subjects. By educating the public’s taste and promoting Republican values, many believed that the decorative arts could serve as a powerful tool with which to forge the bonds of nationhood. Gallé’s works in glass and wood are the product of the artist’s lifelong struggle to conceptualize just such a public role for his art. By studying decorative art objects and contemporary art criticism, then, I examine the ways in which Gallé’s works actively participated in contemporary efforts to define a unified national identity and a modern artistic style for France. My dissertation begins with an examination of Gallé’s works produced for the Exposition Universelle of 1889, works that focused on forging consensus among members of the French nation through their appeal to patriotic values. I argue that the divisive events of the Dreyfus Affair, however, led Gallé to reevaluate the idea of both artistic and political consent. In response to these challenges, Gallé developed a Symbolist style that privileged subjective sensation as an expression of the artist’s political commitment to the rights of the individual. I contend that Gallé’s encounter with Japanese art, meanwhile, informed his decision to abandon conventional forms of allegory in favor of defining the national through the natural. My dissertation concludes with a discussion of Gallé’s role as the founder of the École de Nancy , a group that brought together artists and industrialists in an attempt to reformulate ideas of artistic community and national identity in the wake of the Affair. In his works, then, I argue that Gallé sought toredefine what it meant to be French and, in the process, transformed the way in which his contemporaries viewed the decorative arts and their cultural significance. Contents Introduction ii Chapter 1. Carved Into the Flesh of France: Gallé and the Franco-Prussian War 1 Chapter 2. The Franco-Russian Alliance: Unity and Memory 43 Chapter 3. Poetry in Glass: The Evolution of a Symbolist Aesthetic 61 Chapter 4. The Anxiety of Influence: Japonisme, Nature, and the Formation of a National Style 75 Chapter 5. Gallé and Dreyfus: A Republican Vision 134 Chapter 6. One for All, or All for One? Gallé and the École de Nancy 169 Conclusion 217 Images 220 Endnotes 445 Works Cited: 19th and Early 20th-Century Sources 571 Works Cited: 20th and 21st-Century Sources 590 Appendex 1. Image Credits 607 Introduction Object Nation: The Role of the Decorative Arts in Defining a Modern Style for France Prologue: Requiem The new century has only a handful of years to its name. A man, just this side of gaunt, sits draped like an empty sack in a hard wooden chair. In his hands he holds a delicate

FAQs

What core relationship does the dissertation examine in Émile Gallé’s career?

It examines how art and politics intersect through the decorative arts, especially how material culture helped form national subjects and modern style for France.

How does the dissertation connect Gallé’s work to the Exposition Universelle of 1889?

It begins with Gallé’s 1889 exposition works and argues that they aimed to build consensus within the French nation by appealing to patriotic values.

What changes does the Dreyfus Affair introduce in Gallé’s artistic and political thinking?

The dissertation argues that the Affair caused Gallé to reconsider the idea of artistic and political consent, leading him to develop a Symbolist style that emphasized subjective sensation as political commitment to individual rights.

Aug 24, 2026

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