“Art for art’s sake” was a belief strongly espoused by the celebrated French designer and glassworker Émile Gallé. Through his ethereal glass vases, other vessels and lamps, which he adorned with botanical and religious motifs, Gallé advanced the Art Nouveau ideology and led the modern renaissance of French glass.
Gallé was the son of successful faience and furniture maker Charles Gallé but studied philosophy and botany before coming to glassmaking later in life. The young Gallé’s expertise in botany, however, would inform his design style and become his signature for generations to come.
After learning the art of glassmaking, Gallé went to work at his father’s factory in Nancy. He initially created clear glass objects but later began to experiment with layering deeply colored glass.
While glassmakers on Murano had applied layers of glass and color on decorative objects before Gallé had, he was ever-venturesome in his northeastern France, taking advantage of defects that materialized during his processes and etching in natural forms like insects such as dragonflies, marine life, the sun, vines, fruits and flowers modeled from local specimens.
Gallé is also credited with reviving cameo glass, a glassware style that originated in Rome. He used cabochons, which were applied raised-glass decorations colored with metallic oxides and made to resemble rich jeweling. Gallé's cameo glass vases and vessels were widely popular at the Paris Exhibition of 1878, cementing his position as a talented designer and pioneer.
During the late 19th century, Gallé led breakthroughs in mass production and employed hundreds of artisans in his workshop.
Botany and nature remained great sources of inspiration for the artist's glassmaking — just as they had for other Art Nouveau designers. From approximately 1890 to 1910, the movement’s talented designers produced furniture, glass and architecture in the form of — or adorned with — gently intertwining trees, flowers and vines. But Gallé had many interests, such as Eastern art and ceramics. The Japanese collection he visited at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London (then the South Kensington Museum) during the 1870s had made an impression too.
Breaking free from the rigid Victorian traditions, Gallé infused new life and spirit into the art and design of his time through exquisitely crafted glass vessels and pioneering new glassworking techniques.
Find a collection of Émile Gallé vases and other furniture and decorative objects on 1stDibs.
Émile Gallé "Ombelle" Side Chair
By Émile Gallé
Located in New York, NY
Gallé first designed the Ombelle chairs to great critical acclaim at the 1900 Exposition Universelle. The chairs were inspired by the umbellifer family. The species in this family, i...
Cane, Walnut
Émile Gallé "Ombelle" Side Chair
By Émile Gallé
Located in New York, NY
Gallé first designed the Ombelle chairs to great critical acclaim at the 1900 Exposition Universelle. The chairs were inspired by the umbellifer family. The species in this family, i...
Cane, Walnut
Émile Gallé "Ombelle" Side Chair
By Émile Gallé
Located in New York, NY
Gallé first designed the Ombelle chairs to great critical acclaim at the 1900 Exposition Universelle. The chairs were inspired by the umbellifer family. The species in this family, i...
Cane, Walnut
$24,000
Galle Dining Room Chairs
By Émile Gallé
Located in Bridgewater, CT
6 Emile Galle dining room chairs, signed. Measures: Depth 17" x Width 17" x Height 38" x Seat Height 18" Caning need to be redone.
Wood
Six Mid-Century Cane Back Dining Room Chairs
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Set of vintage-modern dining room chairs featuring upholstered seats and cane back. Matching dining room table sold separately. Please con...
Cane, Walnut
Set of 6 Louis XVI Style Dining Room Chairs
Located in Laguna Beach, CA
Set of 6 painted Louis XVI style dining room chairs, circa mid 20th century. With a concave crest rail, a trapezoidal shaped back with brass nail head trim, upholstered seat with bra...
Brass
Bertu Side Chairs, Chili Modern Side Chair, Oak, White Oak
By Bertu Furniture
Located in Oak Harbor, OH
Bertu Side Chairs, Chili Modern Side Chair, Oak - 0721 This Chile Modern Side Chair is beautifully constructed from solid oak in Ohio, USA. The lounge chair's silhouette is simple, modern, and sleek with comfortable back and seat cushions. This is the perfect chair for any space, indoor or outdoor. This specific wood species is for indoor only; please contact for outdoor options. Price includes thick weave fabric (multiple colors available) and finish of your choice. Designer Inspiration: "I am inspired by my love for travel. So many places that inspire me have very minimal furniture, often built-in sofas with big comfy cushions, hammocks, raw natural wood, etc. The feel is low-key, simple, and comfortable. The wood isn't refined, it just IS. I envision this furniture used for indoor/outdoor spaces or any room that needs some comfort or relief. The Chile chair...
Wood, Oak
French 19th Century Restauration Dining Room Chairs
Located in Stockbridge, GA
French 19th century restauration dining room chairs.
Walnut
Five Italian Side Chairs
Located in Albany, NY
Side chair from the 1930s with early example of plywood seat. Chairs can be sold separately. $1500.00 per chair.
Plywood
Pair of Side Chairs
Located in London, England
Very near pair of rail back side chairs in elm, with rush seats. U.K circa 1800. H 93cm (SH 44cm) x W 49cm x D 44cm
Rush, Elm
Mt Lebanon Shaker Side Chair
By Mt. Lebanon Shaker Community
Located in Sharon, CT
An early Shaker 'Tilter' side chair, This is a tilter that has lost its tilters.
Cane, Maple
$3,869 / set
H 35.44 in W 19.69 in D 17.33 in
Pair of Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann Style Beech Curved Back Dining Chairs
Located in Reading, Berkshire
An Elegant Pair of Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann Style Beech Curved Back Hallway Chairs With Upholstered Seats & Brass Leg Cups 1930's. Very Well Executed Chairs, with beautiful wood g...
Brass
English Side Chair
Located in Southampton, NY
English side chair with brass nailheads upholstered in Holland & Sherry fabric Measures: 18" W x 18" D x 30.5" H x 15.5" SH.
Wood
French Giltwood Side Chair
Located in Miami, FL
French giltwood side chair.
Giltwood
$2,570 / item
H 27.17 in W 24.41 in D 19.3 in
Walnut Timber, Rattan, Linen Wilderness Dining Room Chair
By Egg Designs
Located in Bothas Hill, KZN
Wilderness Dining Room Chair - Tala Collection by Egg Designs The Wilderness Dining Room Chair is a standout piece from the Tala collection, meticulously designed by Egg Designs. Th...
Brass
Dining Room Chairs by Adrian Pearsall
By Adrian Pearsall
Located in Oklahoma City, OK
These dining chairs, designed by the renowned Adrian Pearsall, epitomize mid-century modern elegance. Each chair features freshly upholstered seats and backs in a sophisticated gray ...
Upholstery, Wood
Suelo Slatted Outdoor Side Chair
By Bertu Furniture
Located in Oak Harbor, OH
This Suelo® Slatted Outdoor Side Chair is beautifully constructed in Ohio, USA. This silhouette is simple, modern, and sleek with comfortable back and ...
Mahogany
French Art Deco Side Chair Manner of Émile-Jaques Ruhlmann
By Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann
Located in Sharon, CT
Extraordinary deco side chair with a high finish dark lacquer, appropriately upholstered in a striking yellow and black fabric.
Wood
Grey Linen Side Chair
Located in Seattle, WA
Shield back side chair in grey linen with nailhead trim.
Louis Majorelle pair of 'Wisteria" Armchairs
By Émile Gallé
Located in New York, NY
These “Wisteria” chairs by Louis Majorelle reinterpret the traditional Windsor form through the lens of French Art Nouveau craftsmanship. The backs feature exquisite marquetry panels...
Upholstery, Fruitwood
Pair of Art Nouveau Side Chairs by Emile Gallé, 1890s
By Émile Gallé
Located in Amsterdam, NL
Magnificent and rare pair of Art Nouveau side chairs. Design by Emile Gallé. Striking French design from the 1890s. Solid oak frames with original sycamore decorations of flowers in ...
Oak, Sycamore
Pair of Art Nouveau Side Chairs by Emile Gallé, 1890s
By Émile Gallé
Located in Amsterdam, NL
Magnificent and rare pair of Art Nouveau side chairs. Design by Emile Gallé. Striking French design from the 1890s. Solid oak frames with original sycamore decorations of flowers in ...
Oak, Sycamore