Émile Simonod (1893 - 1977) Vase Art Deco Glazed Terra Cotta On Yellow Background Flower Decor

Emile SIMONOD ceramist, painter and poet Savoyard (1893-1977) Vase in glazed terracotta with rotating decoration on yellow background of stylized flowers. Some slight enamel leaps to report. Height 10.5 cm Diameter neck 13 cm Ceramist, painter and poet Born in Dolomieu December 21, 1893 Died in Cognin (Savoie) April 4, 1977 Born in a house in the church square, Emile Simonod lived his early years in the hamlet of Guinet where his parents were weavers and farmers. Very soon attracted by the arts, he joined in Paris, after the war of 1914-1918 the sculptor Alfred Boucher, whom he had known at the Tour du Pin and readily recognized as his only master. He must leave Paris in 1919 to settle in Cognin, Savoie, where he finds with his wife, a job as a teacher at the Institute of Young Deaf. Savoie will give this lover of nature that he traveled in all seasons with his easel and his colors, the opportunity to discover the pottery. Abandoning painting, he created in 1926 the Savoyard Pottery, then in 1928, the Savoyard Industrial Society of Pottery Artistic (SISPA). The company, which will employ up to 16 people, including four decorators, will cease operations around 1940. Simonod wanted his works to be useful objects first. "To make art, yes, but adapted to all the needs of everyday life and to be the dispensers of the pleasant face of the home," he said. Its enamels, based on metal oxides, brought to the Savoyard pottery hitherto unknown tones. A metallization process, invented by Simonod around 1930, interested many foreign countries, including the Americans, and gave his work an original touch. More talented for the arts than business management, Emile Simonod must renounce the dawn of the war of 1939-1945. He returns to his first passion, painting. Accustomed to the walls of the Savoyard until 1977, the year of his death, his pictorial work is estimated between 3500 and 4000 canvases. Ceramist and painter, Emile Simonod was also a musician and handled rhyme with equal talent. More than 300 poems constitute the written work. An original and endearing character, Emile Simonod devoted himself, according to the season, to multiple activities. Hunting, fishing, mycology, beekeeping, he still had time to cycle through Savoy to join his many friends with whom he shared memorable ball games. His long walks were also an opportunity to enjoy nature in all seasons, with a predilection for autumn, which he left sumptuous compositions. Dolomois Historical Group December 2003.