Style Napoleon III / Ref.1017

Enamelled decorative panel by Sarreguemines

Decorative panel made of 80 enameled tiles. The panel represents a single scene in the manner of a painting. A woman stranded alone on rocks seems to shy away from impressive waves. Indeed on either side of the rocks, Art Nouveau style wave motifs roll up close to her.
This panel was in a residence in Hossegor, resort town made fashionable by the Empress Eugenie and the English vacationers in the second half of the 19th century. Summer residences were richly decorated and furnished by their owners, and both the architecture and interior decoration styles were strongly influenced by the theme of the sea. Such a panel is a perfect example of how the interior decorative elements recreated the maritime atmosphere.
The originality here is also in the history of its motif. The theme of a young lady abandoned on a rock, with the silhouette of a nearby castle painted in the background, is exactly reproduced in a larger scene also produced in tiles: Perseus freeing Andromeda, prisoner of the rocks. This larger composition is in a villa in the Paris region.
The similarity of these panels points to the French manufacturer’s creativity in adapting their productions of monumental ceramic panels to the tastes and houses of their clients. Indeed, the ceramic tile makers of Sarreguemines took the initial motif of the young woman and the sea out of the mythological context. The theme therefore was perfectly adapted to the holiday resort atmosphere, the decorative aspect taking priority over the narrative one.

Sarreguemines company, trademarked Utzschneider and Co. Molded tiles manufactured by Villeroy & Boch.
Technically, the panel was made in majolica (transparent colored glazes) typical of the period. Two painting techniques were combined here: a dark contour around the drawing separates the different hues and within these contours different shades of color add relief to the motif.
The Sarreguemines museum confirmed a technical originality of these panels: the décor was painted on molded tiles made by Villeroy & Boch, Co.