Of the artists who work in earthenware Andre Methey must be particularly mentioned. He is the greatest lover of colour and the greatest decorator, an artist who seeks inspiration not in Chinese or Japanese work, but in the rich ceramic production of ancient Persia whose metallic lustres he tries to equal. He is at his best when he builds up his decors from rhythmical repeti tion of very simple motifs taken from nature. Etienne Avenard follows his example. Felix Massoul uses in his work much heavier colours, his decor is more geometric and not so delicate as Methey's. Finally, the very simple but always fine forms and decors of Jean Besnard are not without merit.
While French ceramic artists were following new paths and bringing French work into world-wide prominence the develop ment of the porcelain factory at Sevres—the former glory of France—was negligible save in one respect, that of technique. At the Great Exhibition of 1851, Sevres created a very bad im pression. In 1852 Regnault was made director. An improvement resulted, but only in so far as the art director Dieterle (till 1856) and after him Nicolle tried to make very clever imitations of the 18th century examples, instead of the dull repetition of the old traditions. Under L. Robert who was in charge from 1872 the old post of "directeur des travaux d'art" was reinstituted, and Carrier Belleuse was appointed to it; new men were engaged, amongst others the young Rodin from 188o-82. But, in spite of these efforts and the experiments of the able and resourceful T. Deck a new ceramic art was not born. After Deck's death in 1891 the factory was reorganized, and in 1896, in anticipation of the Paris Exhibi tion of 1900, an extensive working scheme was drawn up as the basis for more modern and artistic development.
By a decree of Oct. I, 1926, greater independence was granted to this factory.
Outside the Sevres factory the only names worthy of note are those of Taxile Doat who has already been mentioned, and Camille Naudot, who about 190o did some fine work in porcelain tendre. Haviland, in Limoges, worked at painting-before-glazing and also tried to produce artistic earthenware, but without producing any thing special. A group of artists in Glatigny, near Versailles, who called themselves after this place, produced porcelains with stream ing glazes reminiscent of gres. Their example was followed by Pil livuyt in Paris. The first to attempt to make artistic stoneware of this kind in France was G. de Feure. In general, however, few good things have been produced. There were several tea and dinner sets at the exhibition of 1925, designed by decorative artists, but they seldom had a cachet of their own. Good work was done by Robert Bonfils, Maurice Dufresne, Suzanne Lalique and, probably the best of all, Marcel Goupy.
In connection with the revival of the German ceramic industry in the loth century two names may be mentioned here, Th. Schmuz-Baudisz and Max Lauger. Both were attracted to the ceramic industry by knowledge of the so-called peasant pottery.
and both learned the industry in its simplest forms from potters in Bavaria or the Black Forest. In this way it was impressed on them that the first thing ceramist should know is that the shape and decoration of any object must depend very largely on the nature and composition of the material and on the technique of firing.
Max Lauger, who worked at Karlsruhe, decorated his vases and jugs, which were simple in shape and of a deep and even colour, with motifs from nature applied in clay of a different colour. His work resembles the barbotine decor. Working for a factory in Kandern he also designed, with the technical expert C. Mayer, architectonically applied earthenware, a great number of tiles, tile-tableaux, and mural coverings. Later, he worked in maiolica for the Majolica Manufaktur at Karlsruhe, and produced articles decorated in strong colours. These have greatly influenced younger artists, such as Ludwig Koenig and Georg Schrimpf, who, how ever, are inclined to an affected naïveté. Th. Schmuz-Baudisz was a painter at Munich, who after 1896 devoted himself to ceramics. He began to shape his objects himself and decorated them with motifs of flora and fauna which he cut out in the engobes that covered his pots. His decorations are much more strongly stylized than those of Lauger. In 1902 he became director of the Staat liche Porzellan Manufaktur at Berlin. The work of Elisabeth Schmidt-Pecht must also be mentioned ; it is simple in decoration and form. In the meantime the porcelain factories took some interest in modern work. The Berlin factory, although strongly dependent on the taste of the court, had already, under Dr. Seger, about 1884, made experiments with copper-oxide glazes, and had even obtained good results in red and blue on the so-called flammes and running-glazes. The plastic articles, however, re mained of little importance in spite of some successful products by Franz Metzner. But when Schmuz-Baudisz, who had started making domestic porcelain with simple decorations at the factory of Swaine and Company in Hiittensteinach, moved to the factory at Berlin, the example of Copenhagen was soon followed and painting-before-glazing was applied. Of the artists, Adolf Flad and Max Diirschke must be mentioned. Schmuz-Baudisz, who set himself the task of designing landscapes in colour on large porce lain tiles, attempted a difficult technique which was not always justifiable from an artistic point of view. For many years the plastic work at Berlin could not free itself from the influence of the court. Since that time, however, Hermann Hubatsch has made clever statuettes, and in animal pieces Anton Pachegger (1917) and Edmund Otto have done sensitive work. But a great deal has not been accomplished, and in this respect Berlin is just as unim portant as Meissen for the same period, in that, although techni cally very clever, it produced nothing really important until 1918.