Vase Called "tragi-comic" - Gabriel Argy-rousseau (1885-1953)

A pyriform flaring neck vase made in cameo glass (pâte de verre),
ornated with a frieze of Ancient theater tragic and comic masks,
coloured in red on a purple background;
and at he upper part, rosaces on a yellow, red and purple background. 

Signed " G. Argy-Rousseau" 

Perfect condition
France
circa 1922 

height 25,8 cm
diameter 13 cm 

Model presented in 1925, reproduced in "Les pâtes de verre,catalogue raisonné G. Argy-Rousseau", Les éditions de l'amateur, pp. 56and 190. 

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https://galerietourbillon.com/argy-rousseau-gabriel-vase-tragi-comique/
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Biography :
Joseph Gabriel Rousseau called GabrielArgy-Rousseau (1885-1953) was a French sculptor, ceramist and glassmakerwho contributed to the rediscovery of cameo glass as a major glass art of theearly twentieth century. If the technique of cameo glass dates back to ancienttimes, it fell into oblivion for a long time. In the last quarter of thenineteenth century, Henri Cros and a handful of artists, often ceramists of theArt Nouveau movement, such as François Décorchemont or Georges Despret, put itin the spotlight. The last of these precursors was Gabriel Argy-Rousseau. Hewas considered as the only glassmaker to have developed and used the complexprocess of cameo glass, the other glassmakers working with crystal paste. Entering the Ceramics School of Sèvres, he discovered the cameo glassin the workshop of Henri Cros. GabrielArgy-Rousseau began to produce between 1910 and 1920. His early works wereinfluenced by Art Nouveau style plant motifs and animal themes. He began at the1914 Salon of the French Artists in Paris. Between 1921 and 1931, establishedrue Simplon in Paris, he was a shareholder in the Argy-Rousseau cameo GlassSociety. With many collaborators, he produced small very colorful Art Nouveauand Art Deco subjects, distributed in small series: pendants, vases, lamps andnight lights and, from 1928, sculptures (statuettes or bas-reliefs) incollaboration with Marcel Bouraine. Unlike his fellow ceramicists, he remainedbelatedly faithful to the polychrome effects and floral motifs of Art Nouveaustyle. He developed shimmering colors (ruby red, amethyst, gray, deep blue ...)and textures with marbled effects. He invented new processes for thesuperficial coloring of the paste, by painting oxide powder before secondfiring at a low temperature. His works were in glass paste, the statuettesusually in crystal paste. The glass creations of GabrielArgy-Rousseau remain among the most typical and representative examples ofArt Deco production. The production of the workshop ceased in 1931, butArgy-Rousseau continued to create pieces of crystal paste, because of theeconomic crisis, the opportunity to work the expensive process of the glasspaste was no longer possible. He exhibited punctually, especially in 1934,glassware adorned with precious metals. His last exhibition took place a yearbefore his death in 1952. He died forgotten, but left many works in the glassbranch, now rediscovered.