Art Deco Collection.com

A French man at LA LOUVIERE

Charles Catteau (1880-1966)
Born in Douai, in the North of France, Charles Catteau was the director of ceramic productionat Boch Manufacuture in la Louviere from 1907 to 1950. Under his directorship at the factory, and his classes at the Ecole Industrielle in La louviere, Catteau proved to be a leader of the Art Deco movement.

Art Deco sought to unite the techniques of mass production of modern industry with the quality of decorative arts, to create affordable art objects for the public. Under his influence, Boch Manufacturing combined artistic creativity with the knowledge of industrial techniques.

Production during his directorship was so prolific that more than 2000 patterns are attributed to the"MAN OF KERAMIS" As Director of the Ecole Industrielle in La Louviere, he exposed his students to the aesthetics of Japan, African art and Cubism and all the avant-garde movements of western art. Some of his students were able to sign their work and a few became as renowned as their master. Catteau was known for his mastery of “gres,” which was a technique seldom used in Europe before his time and which he used to "shape" a new line of ceramic production at the Boch Manufacture.

Unlike porcelain in which multiple hues are derived from colors contained in a solution, gres uses glaze deposits on the surface of the piece. When subjected to high temperatures, these glazes never crystallize in an identical manner, showing slightly different and sometimes random chromatic effects.His inspiration often came from his study of Japanese art. He also outlined his designs with black lines and fired enamel glazes at different temperatures to create a wonderful "cloisonne" effect.

The designs of Charles Catteau and his workshop include an extraordinary range of animals and floral patterns, as well as abstract designs ands shapes. Some pieces are covered with intricate ornaments, while others are almost bare. Colors are bright, iridescent, matte or, as it is the case in many of the "cloisonne" pieces, a beautiful semi-gloss. Original ceramics by Charles Catteau produced at La Louviere have become highly collectable. They can be identified by the numbers and signatures at the bottom of each piece.

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