Céramique 1900 - Art Deco - Art Nouveau - Art Modern. Ceramic, crockery, terracotta, sandstone, porcelain, stoneware, earthenware.
Ceramique 1900

Francis JOURDAIN (1876-1958) - France

Francis JOURDAIN is Franz JOURDAIN's son. In 1894, after training at CLAMENS, a master glass-maker, he studies drawing at the sculptor Joseph CHERET, then enters the workshop GERVEX in order to study with Eugene CARRIERE. He often goes to the gallery Le Bard de Boutteville (LAUTREC, BONNARD, VUILLARD) and TOULOUSE-LAUTREC whom he gets to know through Rupert CARABIN in 1894, introduces him to the anarchist group. Between 1898 and 1900, he works as the assistant of the painter Albert BESNARD, then in 1901 he is the co-founder of the society Art pour Tous. The gallery DRUET devotes to him its first personal exhibition in 1906. But in 1913 he gives up painting to become a "furniture designer", a growing interest since his meeting in 1891 with the sculptor and decorator Alexandre CHARPENTIER (1856-1909), the very art-worker, idolized by the defenders of social art. CHARPENTIER founds in 1896 the Group of Six, whose fundamental, rationalist principles JOURDAIN will closely respect. In 1912, his work slips into a greater simplification, soberness, economy of space and of cost. In 1918 he starts working for the Société Innovation who finances the shop he opens on 2 Rue de Sèze : Chez Francis JOURDAIN. He offers there two types of products at average and low costs, among which ceramics.
The Salon d'Automne of 1920 is for him very successful and the Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes of Paris in 1925 enables the whole group around MALLET-STEVENS, CHAREAU and JOURDAIN to assume the leadership of the French modern decorative arts and thus to open the way to modern domestic decoration. In 1925 he is the co-founder of UAM, but weakened and exhausted by fighting for the defence of his ideas, he can hardly prepare an exhibition. Eventually in 1938 he achieves his last project : the College de France Director's desk.