Max Laeuger Art Nouveau Vase

Large Art Nouveau glazed ceramic vase attributed to Max Laeuger. Floral decoration Max Laeuger (born September 30, 1864 in Lörrach in the Grand Duchy of Baden and died December 12, 1952 in the same city) was a German painter, ceramist, sculptor, graphic designer, decorator, architect, landscape designer and urban planner. Internationally renowned, he is considered a major artist of the 20th century: a precursor of ceramic art and its fusion with painting in the Art Nouveau style, he is also the initiator of many innovative rules in the fields of graphics, architecture and landscape design. He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Karlsruhe. In 1904, he obtained a professorship of art at the University of Karlsruhe. Later, he also taught interior design and garden design. In 1892, he moved to Kandern, a small town in Baden, renowned for its pottery workshops. He taught painting to the pottery artisans of Kandern, a mission entrusted by the State of Baden to revive the sale of pottery. In 1907, he was a founding member of the Deutscher Werkbund. That same year, he designed the architectural layout of Mannheim Park as part of the International Exhibition of Art and Gardening. His works were presented at the World Fairs of 1900, 1904, and 1910. In 1916, he opened his own ceramics workshop in Karlsruhe. From 1921 to 1929, he worked with the Italian faience factory in Karlsruhe – the Großherzogliche Majolika-Manufaktur – to which he provided numerous design sketches. In 1925, he designed the Baden-Baden Nature Park, the Gönner-Anlage, the best-preserved German Art Nouveau garden. In 1939, he was made an honorary citizen of the city of Lörrach and in 1948, a member of the Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts. Max Laeuger's work is in the Art Nouveau style. With his paving patterns, reliefs, and sculptures, the world-renowned ceramist broke down the traditional boundaries between sculpture and painting. In his native region, where Germany, France, and Switzerland meet, he contributed to cross-border cooperation in the arts by accepting assignments from all three countries. In this way, he advocated the universal nature of artistic creation. The decorative motifs he used were inspired by the local flora. Later, oriental-inspired ornaments also adorned his works. He mastered many techniques and materials: ceramics, painting, textiles, wood, paper, etc. He also created stained glass windows for several German and Swiss churches. His plastic works in clay take various forms: female silhouettes, reliefs, elephants, human heads… As a graphic designer, he designed many pioneering posters in the Art Nouveau style. In the architectural field, he developed the plans for many buildings (in particular rural houses in Germany and Switzerland). The most important public collection of Max Laeuger's works is kept at the Three Countries Museum in Lörrach. It consists of 522 ceramic pieces, as well as 77 pictorial works, oils, gouaches, watercolors, engravings and Indian inks. Although he planned to write six, Max Laeuger published three works devoted to art: Form und Farbe in der Bau- und Raumkunst (Forms and Colors in Architecture and the Arts of Space), Malerei, Städtebau, Gartenkunst und Reklame (Painting, Urban Planning, Garden Art and Advertising) and Keramische Kunst (Ceramic Art). These three works by Max Laeuger are kept at the Musée des Trois