Alexandre BIGOT
1862 - 1927
We are in the middle of the 19th century, Japan, hermetic and closed until then, is gradually opening up to the West.
Under the impetus of art dealer Hayashi Tadamasa, the works of Japanese artists such as Hokusai, Hiroshige, Utamaro and others were unveiled during the Paris Universal Exhibitions of 1867, 1878 and 1889.
This artistic approach from the Far East will gradually influence painting and art in general on the old continent. An artistic renewal of ceramists and sculptors is also committed to a return to nature, authenticity and emotion.
Alexandre Bigot will be one of them and yet nothing predestined him to become one of the greatest ceramists of his time.
With a scientific background, doctor of science, professor in the Grandes Ecoles, Alexandre Bigot fell in love with ceramics when he was discovered at the Paris Universal Exhibition of 1889.
He then stopped his university career for an artistic career.
In 1890, he joined the Union Syndicale des Architectes founded by Anatole de Baudot, open to all - artists, industrialists, builders, engineers, etc.
This particularity allows him to get to know the architects and facilitate collaborations.
His training as an organic chemist and his knowledge of mineralogy, acquired with his master Charles Friedel, led him to in-depth studies on enamelling with the aim of creating enamels with infinite colors.
After long research, his discoveries are multiple; the quality of an enamel depends on the number of its components and the role of each in relation to the others, its color will change depending on the basic elements and acids it contains. Another important conclusion is the phenomena generated during long firing at high temperature which will modify the final appearance of the enamels after fusion.
The publication in 1893 of the results of his long research will elevate Alexandre Bigot to the rank of master among the ceramists of the time.
But the most remarkable in the architectural field with Bigot remains its production methods. Indeed its models, the choice of formats and tones have all been designed and manufactured according to orders and in agreement with the architect. Some sculpted pieces were even made on site.
All these considerations make buildings on which he intervened unique works.
