New research program “GALLE”: Non-invasive study of the work of the glass maker Emile Gallé
CARAA, in collaboration with the LARCROA and the Museum of the Ecole de Nancy started a new research program to better understand and to reference the material used by one of the most distinguished glass masters of Art Nouveau, Emile Gallé (1846-1904).
Together with the Museum of the Ecole de Nancy, some forty works from the museum’s collections were selected based on their historical, technical, aesthetic or chronological interest. These works cover a production period from 1886 (the first works of the artist) until 1916 (produced by the workshop of E. Gallé after the death of the artist in 1904). The data, acquired in-situ by non-invasive X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, are being studied and will be used after correlation with the historical data and recipes, to identify the materials as well as to better understand the techniques used by E. Gallé.
The characterization of the artist’s palette will also help to differentiate the authentic pieces of Gallé from counterfeit.