In 1954, Picasso (1881–1973) became aware of gemmaux glass mosaic panels through his friend Jean Cocteau (1889–1963). Gemmaux is the plural form of gemmail, a fusion of the French terms ‘gemme’ and ‘email’, meaning ‘enamel gem’. At the time, the studio of Roger Malherbe-Navarre (1908–2006), Les Gemmaux de France, was expanding on the light boxes created by the French painter Jean Crotti (1870–1958). The process includes layering pieces of glass into pictorial depictions.
Impressed by the gemmistes’ masterful assembling and fusing of carefully selected glass, Picasso declared ‘A new art is born – the gemmaux!’
Created over a period of just four years, between 1954 and 1957, to explore and showcase the medium’s artistic possibilities, the results of Picasso’s works in glass were simply astonishing. The earliest display took place in Monaco in February 1956, followed by a retrospective in Paris in March 1957. These exhibitions were an immediate success, with important collectors acquiring his gemmaux and numerous public exhibitions following in Europe and the US between 1959–1964 and 1959– 1961.
Despite their significance, Picasso’s gemmaux remain relatively understudied, and since the 1960s, they have rarely been displayed, with the exception of four exhibitions in Japan in 1998. As such, the artist’s ambition to master this complicated technique and expand his diverse oeuvre across lesser-known media is underappreciated. As with his explorations into ceramics, Picasso’s glass works exemplify his unique approach to merging his iconic pictorial themes with more three- dimensional and sculptural aspects.
In 1954, Picasso (1881–1973) became aware of gemmaux glass mosaic panels through his friend Jean Cocteau (1889–1963). Gemmaux is the plural form of gemmail, a fusion of the French terms ‘gemme’ and ‘email’, meaning ‘enamel gem’. At the time, the studio of Roger Malherbe-Navarre (1908–2006), Les Gemmaux de France, was expanding on the light boxes created by the French painter Jean Crotti (1870–1958). The process includes layering pieces of glass into pictorial depictions.
Impressed by the gemmistes’ masterful assembling and fusing of carefully selected glass, Picasso declared ‘A new art is born – the gemmaux!’
Created over a period of just four years, between 1954 and 1957, to explore and showcase the medium’s artistic possibilities, the results of Picasso’s works in glass were simply astonishing. The earliest display took place in Monaco in February 1956, followed by a retrospective in Paris in March 1957. These exhibitions were an immediate success, with important collectors acquiring his gemmaux and numerous public exhibitions following in Europe and the US between 1959–1964 and 1959– 1961.
Despite their significance, Picasso’s gemmaux remain relatively understudied, and since the 1960s, they have rarely been displayed, with the exception of four exhibitions in Japan in 1998. As such, the artist’s ambition to master this complicated technique and expand his diverse oeuvre across lesser-known media is underappreciated. As with his explorations into ceramics, Picasso’s glass works exemplify his unique approach to merging his iconic pictorial themes with more three-dimensional and sculptural aspects.