Category
Architecture and interior design
Poissons (Fish) Fountain
René Lalique
New edition of an original dating from 1937
Crystal, metal frame / setting / mount
Property of Lalique SA (on loan to the Lalique Museum)
Water was a theme dear to René Lalique’s heart, and featured in many different ways in his work. His interest in architecture led him to start designing fountains from 1910. In 1937, René Lalique produced two fountains for the “Exposition internationale des Arts et techniques dans la vie moderne”, namely Jet d’eau (Fountain) and Poissons (Fish).
For the Poissons fountain, the water does not spring directly from the glass, but from jets built into the body of the fountain. The impression of movement, and of the fish jumping out of the water, is reinforced by the drops of water sculpted in the glass.
In the new crystal version on show by a vast window at the Lalique Museum, visitors can admire the play of light on the crystal, which varies depending on the degree of sunlight and the angle from which you observe the fountain.
By the way: The Mobilier National (a State institution responsible for furnishing the country’s official buildings) has loaned to the Lalique Museum the glass elements of the original version of Poissons shown in the glass and ceramics pavilion at the “Exposition internationale des Arts et techniques dans la vie moderne” in Paris in 1937.
