GEORGE DE FEURE (Paris, 1868-1943).1 decanter and 2 glasses.1910.In glass paste, pressed and

GEORGE DE FEURE (Paris, 1868-1943).
1 decanter and 2 glasses.1910.
In glass paste, pressed and moulded. Decorated with Greek-inspired friezes.
Signed on the base.
Catalogued in "Le Génie Verrier de L'Europe (Témoignages de l'Historicisme à la Modernité: 1840-1998)" by Giuseppe Cappa, n.434, p.255.
Measurements: 18.5 x 18 x 18 cm. (jug); 14 x 11.5 x 2 cm. (vases).
In these three pieces in glass paste, George de Feure develops a transitional style, between Art Nouveau and Art Deco. The pitcher combines gradient tones, and the glasses are decorated with a frieze inspired by ancient Greek vessels. Georges de Feure, painter, decorator and designer, was the son of an influential Dutch architect living in Paris. He began his training in the book trade in The Hague, where he came into contact with Symbolism. In 1890 he became a pupil of Jules Cheret, and began designing posters for the Salon Des Cent, Loie Fuller and Thermes Liegois. During the early years of his career he acquired renown as a Symbolist painter, and Puvis de Chavannes considered him one of the most important painters of that movement. In the following decade he was also recognised as a talented poster painter and illustrated books such as Marcel Schwob's "La Porte des Réves" (1899). De Feure exhibited his paintings at the Societé Nationale in 1894, at the Salon de la Rose Croix in 1893 and 1894, and at the Munich Secession in 1896. He was also interested in design, in everything that made up the decoration of a house; he created designs for printed fabrics, porcelain, stained glass and glassware. In the 1990s he was appointed professor of decorative arts at the École des Beaux-Arts. His first commissions were illustrations and set designs, until he was finally discovered by one of the greatest art dealers in Paris at the time, Siegfried Bing. Bing became interested in him after seeing many of his paintings at the Paris Salons, as well as his illustrations in Paris newspapers and his posters. Thus in the 1890s de Feure began to abandon painting and printmaking in favour of design and the decorative arts, and as early as the 1894 Salon National des Beaux-Arts he exhibited designs for furniture and ceramics. In fact, it was around this time that he began to be known as a creator of refined and exquisite furniture for the wealthier classes. De Feure soon became one of Bing's most important designers, and Bing encouraged him to extend his talents to all areas of art and design. His work was exhibited continuously in Bing's shop, "La Maison de l'Art Nouveau", from 1895 until its closure in 1904. De Feure designed all kinds of pieces for Bing's shop, and his greatest success was the salon furniture he made for Bing's pavilion at the 1900 Paris Exposition Universelle, which won him a gold medal. Feure collaborated with another contemporary decorative arts gallery opened in Paris in those years (1898), Julius Meier-Grafe's "La Maison Moderne". In 1928 he was appointed professor at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux Arts. From then on he combined his artistic work with teaching, in a fully Art Deco style, until his death in November 1943, during the occupation of Paris. Works by Georges de Feure are now housed in some of the world's most important museums, including the Musée d'Orsay in Paris, the Metropolitan and MoMA in New York and the Albertina in Vienna.