Henri Bergé

Henri Bergé (October 14, 1870 – October 26, 1937) was a French designer and illustrator who was part of the Art Nouveau movement.

Biography Son of a lace manufacturer, Henri Bergé received an artistic education at l'École des Beaux-Arts in Nancy, France, where he studied under the painter Jules Larcher.

In 1897, he joined Daum, a crystal studio based in Nancy, and became a leader in decorative glass. Bergé later became head decorator, replacing Jacques Gruber.

He is best known for his Floral Encyclopedia, which compiled his studies of plants used in Daum's manufacturing of art glass and crystal objects.

École de Nancy Henri Bergé was long associated with the École de Nancy, also known as "the provincial alliance of the industries of art," which emerged from the collaboration of key figures and promoters of Lorraine decorative arts. Émile Gallé served as its president, while Louis Majorelle, Antonin Daum, and Eugène Vallin were vice presidents. Upon its creation on February 13, 1901, Bergé was a member of the steering committee alongside other notable local figures, including Jacques Gruber, Louis Hestaux, Charles Fridrich, and Victor Prouvé.

Mainly known for his drawings, Bergé upheld the values of the École de Nancy and taught at several schools throughout his career. In 1894, he supervised lessons at the Daum modeling and drawing school. In 1895, he became co-director of the school, alongside Jacques Gruber.

Bergé worked with Antonin Daum until his death in 1937. In addition to his work at Daum, he was also a professor at various institutions. He taught at the École des Beaux-Arts and the École Professionnelle de l'Est in Nancy, a school for applied arts that aimed to compete with the Beaux-Arts schools, where teaching no longer met the needs of industrial art. During World War I, Bergé also taught at the Henri-Poincaré High School.

Bergé often visited the botanical garden of Sainte Catherine and the greenhouse of the nurseryman Victor Lemoine in Nancy. This society played a major role for the artists of the École de Nancy, who were strongly influenced by nature.

Much like some members of the École de Nancy, such as Louis Majorelle and Eugène Corbin, Bergé also used photography alongside his drawings to aid his creative work. This practice allowed him to create models with great naturalism. The photographs could have been taken either outdoors or in a studio, for example, by isolating a plant against a neutral background. A series of photographic plates were discovered in the house of Suzanne Bergé, the artist's daughter.

Daum studio

As the artistic director of the factory, Henri Bergé was an essential collaborator at Daum. Daum's goal was to produce decorative pieces in a more industrial manner by mass-producing patterns. Bergé developed a unique method for affixing his drawings to the pieces: by creating pouncing patterns. On tracing paper, he adapted reusable pouncing patterns for the factory's decorators. Reuse an example of Bergé's motifs for objects created by Daum. On this vase created by Daum in 1902 and kept at the musée de l'École de Nancy, we can find the thistle motif. The diffusion of Bergé's models was also incorporated into his lessons at the Daum School. It was through the study of leaves and flowers created by the artist that the students learned how to draw. The same leaf and flower study techniques were used at other institutions where the professor taught.

In his 40 years of activity at the Daum factory, Bergé built an extensive collection of plants and floral motifs, which he compiled in his Floral Encyclopedia. This encyclopedia served as a source of motifs for the Daum factory until the 1920s. His art features numerous details, such as fruits, seeds, and even the different stages of flower blossoming. Some plates are occasionally accompanied by scientific notes and descriptions.

Even though Bergé's work faithfully reflected nature, he never considered it a true work of art. It did not aim for the completeness of an encyclopedia. Its primary purpose was industrial: to create a stylistic foundation that would provide "beautiful functional models" for Daum's workers.

Bergé did not hesitate to cast insects and small animals for his collaboration with Amalric Walter.

Examples of works created during this collaboration

Works

Henri Bergé produced numerous advertisements (e.g. for the Maison d'art de Lorraine) printed by Albert Begeret in Nancy, and subsequently printed by the Modern Graphic Art. thumb An advertisement which promoted the opening of a mourning department at the Magasins Réunis in Nancy, by Henri Bergé, 20th century, Nancy, Palace of the Dukes of Lorraine. He also illustrated advertisements for the old French stores chain called the Magasins réunis in Nancy. Bergé created several Art Nouveau stained-glass windows. Some were advertising stained glass windows such as in the brewery located on the ground floor of the Cure d'Air Trianon in Malzéville. The window panels presented the major beverage brands sold at the brewery. Other stained-glass were more symbolic works of art, such as La Lecture preserved in the collection of the musée de l'École de Nancy. Bergé also collaborated with Amalric Walter, a French glass-maker, and gave him several models, which Walter then used to make handcrafted glass pastes. Henri Bergé produced watercolor studies which represented plants. These studies were grouped together in his Floral Encyclopedia. A collection of 85 of Bergé's drawings are kept at the musée de l'École de Nancy. It was donated to the museum by the Pont-à-Mousson company in 1988