There are two real defining reasons; firstly, his extraordinary vision when it comes to divining what it is that encapsulates the essence of whatever it might be that he is looking to represent, and to then have the acuity to be able to convey this sense of being through his absolute mastery of craftsmanship – breathing life in to inanimate substrates such as metal or glass.
This is perhaps best illustrated by the pieces he produced based on subjects drawn from nature – be it animal, vegetable or mineral. His appreciation of the animal form must have been akin to the way in which someone like Sir David Attenborough can absorb the nuances of structure and form with an innate understanding. You must have to be, for instance, quite the expert entomologist to be able to imagine how best to recreate the wings of a dragonfly or the textures on a beetle’s carapace; to also have the technical ability to then effect the recreation with such perfection, starting from such unprepossessing raw materials, almost defies belief, and any use of the word genius when considering Lalique’s work is in no way out of place. And that’s to say nothing of his pieces that are based on the human form, which are equally breathtaking.
And so I have no hesitation in raising a toast to René Lalique on this, the anniversary of his birth – I must just go and check if we still have any of his exquisite Phalsbourg or Fontainbleau wine glasses on display, as after all, I may as well do it properly….