Valentine Schlegel 1 Large Leaf Ceramic Plate By Valentine Schlegel, 2001

Large Leaf French Ceramic Plate by Valentine Schlegel, 2001 French ceramics, oblongue leaf shape, decoration with iridescent enamels in black, ash and blue shades of colour. Signed 'V.SCHLEGEL' on the back and dated 2001. Valentine Schlegel was a French sculptor and ceramist born on 23 November 1925 in Sète and died on 16 May 2021 in Paris. She is best known for her series of vases created during the 1950s and for the plaster fireplaces she sculpted to order for private homes. In 1945, she moved to Paris and discovered ceramics and sculpture with Frédérique Bourguet, a friend from the Beaux-Arts in Montpellier, with whom she shared a studio on rue Vavin until 1951. They worked together on the modelling of utilitarian ceramic objects. Their pieces are inspired by ancient Mediterranean ceramics. She then moved to a studio on rue Daguerre between 1951 and 1957, then to a studio on rue Bezout from 1957, where she continued to explore ceramics with her sister Andrée Vilar. Her artistic work extends to the design of her studio. Her place of work and living allowed her to explore new materials, and she built plaster arrangements there. From 1959 until 2002, she created and built in situ about a hundred fireplaces for private individuals, with her assistant Frédéric Sichel-Dulong. She made some for Gérard Philipe and Jeanne Moreau. These fireplaces are made of staff and are decorated with covers and shelves. The rounded shapes, all curved, are partly inspired by the boat sails she observed during her Mediterranean childhood. She also made some barbecues in the same style. In 1965, exceptionally, she made exhibition fireplaces for the Salon des arts ménagers and for a furniture shop in Paris.