Vase (vase gothique Fragonard) (one of a pair) manufactured 1832, decorated 1844 Model designed by Alexandre Evariste Fragonard French These two vases decorated in the neo-gothic taste embody the eclecticism that characterizes so much of the art produced in mid-nineteenth-century France. The model for this vase was designed by Alexandre-Évariste Fragonard (French, 1780–1850), one of the most prolific designers at the Sèvres factory during the 1820s and 1830s. Given the title vase gothique Fragonard at Sèvres, the model transforms a Medici vase shape (entry 74) with the addition of prominent sc

Vase (vase gothique Fragonard) (one of a pair) manufactured 1832, decorated 1844 Model designed by Alexandre Evariste Fragonard French These two vases decorated in the neo-gothic taste embody the eclecticism that characterizes so much of the art produced in mid-nineteenth-century France. The model for this vase was designed by Alexandre-Évariste Fragonard (French, 1780–1850), one of the most prolific designers at the Sèvres factory during the 1820s and 1830s. Given the title vase gothique Fragonard at Sèvres, the model transforms a Medici vase shape (entry 74) with the addition of prominent scrolling handles that are embellished with trefoils and stylized vegetation in low relief.[1] The elaborate profile of the handles diminishes the essentially Neoclassical character of the vase’s form, and instead, the form com-bines harmoniously with the painted neo- Gothic decoration to suggest, however loosely, a work of art made in the late fifteenth century.[2] Nonetheless, the Gothic quality of the vase’s design is slight. When the model was exhibited shortly after its introduction at the 1823–24 New Year’s exhibition at the Musée du Louvre in Paris, and during the years in which it was in production, it was described as having a twelfth- century form and decorated in a variety of styles in addition to neo-Gothic.[3] The Museum’s vases are painted in gray and white with gilt high-lights on a dark blue ground in a manner that intentionally evokes Limoges enamels from the sixteenth century. This stylistic borrowing was acknowledged at the factory where the painters’ records describe these vases as “in imitation of Limoges enamels,”[4] and it is testimony to the designers and painters at Sèvres that the late Gothic and Renaissance styles are synthesized seamlessly.[5] The decorative scheme of the two vases celebrates four significant inventions or discoveries by portraying the four men believed to be responsible for these accomplishments. On one vase Nic

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