Offered by Tobogan Antiques
Large "Japonisme" six-light wall-light in patinated bronze with gold and silver highlights attributed to Raingo Frères, representing an elegant young woman in traditional Geisha Japanese outfit, seated on a branch of a Japanese rosebush whose flowers are formed of luminous corollas, and holding out a rose from her left hand.
Biography :
The company Raingo Frères, founded in Paris in 1813, installed their workshops around 1830 at n°8 Touraine Street, then at n°102 Vieille-du-Temple Street. The four Raingo brothers first known as clockmakers, added to their 1841 sale catalog some art bronze works as well as decorative bronze pieces. In 1860, they supplied the palaces of the Emperor Napoleon III. First specialized in Antique statues reproductions, they cast then models sculpted by contemporary artists such James Pradier (1790-1852), Albert Carrier-Belleuse (1824-1887) et Auguste Moreau (1834-1917).
“Japonisme” :
From 1853, and the opening of Japan following the intrusion of the US navy, and more precisely from the 1860’s, the enthusiasm of everything coming from Japan or imitating its style conquers numerous occidental countries from France and Britain. This movement, called “Japonism”, will last until the early 20th century. The previous centuries and decades had already had a certain interest for the exoticism such as chinoiseries ou turqueries in the 18th century or the Orientalism of the 19th century. The Japonism movement has been developed by artists looking for new means of expressions. Size, mediums, colors, drawing and perspectives are reinvented. Decorative Arts, as in painting, draw on those new sources of inspiration patterns to renew their repertoire.
