The luster ware of William Frend de Morgan, 1839-1917, British

 

The paintings of Evelyn de Morgan,1855-1919, British

 

from an exhibition in 2023 at the Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington of a loan from the De Morgan Collection in the United Kingdom.

 

The ceramics were under glass and there is light reflection in these photographs.

 

The pottery made by William de Morgan is lustre (British; luster in American English)ware. 

 

A close friend of William Morris, he aligned his practices and philosophy with that of the Arts and Crafts Movement.

 

 

this photo from the net

Moonlight Lustre Galleon Punchbowl, 1898-1907

 

 

The museum notes that this is a difficult technique.  It dates to 9th century Syria (or Egypt).  It was diffused across the Middle East to Europe where it appears in Italian maiolica in the 16th century. 

 

 

Moonlight Lustre Galleon Punchbowl, 1898-1907

 

 

The technique William De Morgan used was revived in England in the 18th century and potters continued to use it into the 19th century. 

 

 

Moonlight Lustre Galleon Punchbowl, 1898-1907, earthenware

 

 

The technique requires glazes of copper (red) or silver (yellow/gold) oxide applied to the fashioned clay to be fired at a particular, critical temperature.  This oxidizes the glaze, reducing the metal to a metallic, reflective iridescence on the ceramic surface. 

 

 

Moonlight Lustre Galleon Punchbowl, 1898-1907

William de Morgan, 1872-1917, British.

 

 

William De Morgan developed this glaze, called ‘Moonlight Lustre’.  It combined both copper and silver oxide glazes and was much admired. 

The influences on his motifs, likewise, often came from the lusterwork of other civilizations: Turkey, Persia, the Islamic art of India; the maiolica of Italy. 

 

To these he added motifs from the lore of his own culture and the symbols of his own spiritual faith.

 

His practice over time and his prodigious output made William de Morgan the most well-known of the ceramicists of the Arts and Crafts Movement. 

 

As admired as his work was, it was not profitable and the artist gave up his studio in 1907.

 

He turned to writing novels and his books were more successful than his ceramics. 

 

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Evelyn De Morgan, using pastels and oils and meticulous preparatory studies, especially for figures, adopted first the style of the Aesthetic Movement associated with the Pre-Raphaelites. 

 

The focus was on beauty above every other consideration.  Intense colour, nature, elegance of design and pose were of the essence. 

 

These values were not just for the fine arts.  They were to suffuse artisanal work of all kinds and also the practices of daily life.

 

 

 

Central details of The Soul’s Prison House, 1880-88, oil on canvas.

Evelyn de Morgan, 1855-1919, British.  

 

The soul awaits its release from the body into the eternal light.  That the body is but the carrier of the individual’s eternal essence was part of the artist’s spiritual belief.

 

 

Evelyn de Morgan started by leaning on the Italian Renaissance, particularly Botticelli, for her motifs, her palette, and the disposition of her subjects on the canvas. 

 

 

 

Study after Botticelli’s ‘The Birth of Venus’, c. 1875, watercolour on paper

Evelyn de Morgan, 1855-1919, British.

 

Evelyn and William De Morgan met in 1883.  They were well known in their artistic circles at this time.

 

They married in 1887  and she supported her husband’s work with the success of her own paintings.  This support continued for the first half of their marriage.

 

During the course of her practice, Evelyn de Morgan shifted from the Aesthetic values of the Pre-Raphaelites to allegorical works and those in which she could express her Spiritualist beliefs.

 

Realism to suit her clients was part of her practice.  Finally she moved into the full-blown symbolism familiar in the works of continental artists of this time.

 

 

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William and Evelyn De Morgan were Spiritualists. 

 

This movement, which was a response to the widespread loss of faith which accompanied the emergence of the modern age, was taken up by many artists and members of progressive communities in the United Kingdom, Europe, and the United States.

 

William De Morgan’s mother was a renowned Spiritualist and medium and an activist for social reform.

 

In later life, the two artists made known their own long practice of automatic writing which recorded their joint communication with the spirit world. 

 

Among Spiritualism’s important beliefs is that the spirit never dies and that the body is the carriage of the spirit. 

 

The work of both artists is permeated with the symbols of their spiritual philosophy.

 

 

 

 

Ouroboros Dish, 1872-1907, earthenware, lustre glazing

William de Morgan, 1872-1917, British. 

 

A snake which eats its own tale; the circle of which represents infinity. 

Thought to have been designed and made by the artist on the death of his father, a mathematician, who had researched the mathematical concept of eternity.

 

 

 

Both artists were Socialists and supported the political and economic emancipation of women.

Their own, close marriage was one of equals. 

 

Women and men worked in William De Morgen’s studio although women were not  paid equally.

 

 

 

Symmetrical Fantastical Bird Dish in Ruby Lustre, 1872-1907, earthenware

William De Morgan, 1872-1917, British. 

 

 

 

Ruby Lustre Mermaid Dish, 1872-1882, earthenware

William de Morgan, 1872-1917, British. 

 

 

 

 

 

Helen of Troy, 1898, oil on canvas

Evelyn de Morgan, 1855-1919, British.  

 

An unusual setting for Helen of Troy, the unwitting and passive initiator of the Trojan war.  Here she is surrounded by the symbols of peace.

 

 

 

 

Peacock Dish, 1872-1907, earthenware

William de Morgan, 1872-1917, British.

 

Peacocks are the symbol of eternal life in Spiritualism by reason of the many ‘eyes’ in their tails.

 

 

 

this photo from the site of the De Morgen Foundation

Fish and Net Vase, 1882-88, earthenware

William de Morgan, 1872-1917, British.

 

The net pattern was painted on the vase in wax which, become solid, preserved the white ground.  Copper luster fish were then painted over this.  The net pattern revealed itself when the wax melted in the kiln.

 

 

 

 

Ruby Luster Swan Dish, earthenware, 1872-1882

William de Morgan, 1872-1917, British.

 

Decorated, as all his work, on the front and on the back.

 

 

 

 

Love’s Passing, 1883-84; oil on canvas

Evelyn de Morgan, 1855-1919, British. 

 

An allegory of the passing of life.  Love now; in the top right-hand corner, death approaches. 

The artist kept this painting all her life.  She had painted it shortly after she first met her husband who was 16 years her senior.

 

 

 

 

 

Red Luster Dish Decorated with 3 Daisies and Snakes, earthenware, c.1872-82

William de Morgan, 1872-1917, British.

 

Snakes, who shed their skin, are symbols of the survival of the soul after death.  Daisies, a spring flower, represents new life.

 

 

 

 

Ruby Luster Dish with Beetle Pattern, c. 1872-1882

William de Morgan, 1872-1917, British.

 

 

 

 

Gold and Pink Lustre Jardiniere, earthenware; 1887-1907

William de Morgan, 1872-1917, British.

The crescent moon represents spiritual progress.

 

 

 

 

Running Antelope Dish, 1888-1907, earthenware

William de Morgan, 1872-1917, British.

A motif derived from Persian 16th century decorative art.

 

 

 

 

 

Antelope and Fruiting Tree Dish, earthenware (copper lustre); 1889-1907

William de Morgan, 1872-1917, British.

 

 

 

 

Ruby Lustre Dish with Dragon and Owls, earthenware,1872-1907

William de Morgan, 1872-1917, British.

The owl and the dragon in this design represent wisdom and power.

 

 

 

 

Cherub Vase, 1890-1904, earthenware

William de Morgan, 1872-1917, British.

 

The influence on this pot is 16th century Italian majolica, tin-glazed pottery depicting historical or mythological stories.  The serpent handles by a Florentine potter, Ulysse Cantagalli, who worked with William between 1890 and 1904.

 

 

 

 

Flora, 1894, oil on canvas

Evelyn de Morgan, 1855-1919, British.  Loaned by the De Morgan Collection to the Delaware Art Museum in 2023

 

The artist painted a homage to two of the paintings of Sandro Botticelli:  Primavera, the goddess of the Springtime; and The Birth of Venus.  The scroll celebrates Botticelli’s Florence.

 

 

 

 

 

Floral Rice Dish with Raised Boss, earthenware, 1888-1907

William de Morgan, 1872-1917, British.

 

Raised boss dishes are used in the Middle East for rice.  The boss keeps the rice fluffy and light by ensuring an even air flow to its surface.

 

 

 

 

Floral Vase, 1882-1888, earthenware

William de Morgan, 1872-1917, British.

A vase made not on the wheel but by coiling and building up the architecture.

 

 

 

 

Large Wide Rimmed Bear and Hare Dish, earthenware, 1888-1907

William de Morgan, 1872-1917, British.

This hare-bear motif is from Indian folk painting.

 

 

 

Scarlet Macaw and Blue Fronted Amazon Parrot Tile Panel, 1888-1898, earthenware

William de Morgan, 1872-1917, British.

 

Made for the elaborate tiled interiors of well-to-do clients who followed the Aesthetic Movement where art was to exist for itself without any intimation of politics or anything else.

 

 

 

 

The Hour Glass, 1904-05, oil on canvas

Evelyn de Morgan, 1855-1919, British.  

 

The sitter is Jane Morris, the widow of William Morris.  A meditation of the inevitability of both death and of the renewal of life.

 

 

 

 

Bird and Fish Dish, 1888-1907, earthenware

William de Morgan, 1872-1917, British.

 

Green, blue and magenta glazes on a deep blue ground were used for his favourite designs: leaping fish, running water and fantastical birds.

 

 

 

 

 

Fantastic Peacock Dish, 1888-1907, earthenware.

William De Morgan, 1839-1917, British

 

 

 

 

 

Persian Coloured Rice Dish, 1889-1907, earthenware

William De Morgan, 1839-1917, British

 

 

 

 

 

 Vase with Persian Floral Decoration 1888-1897, earthenware

William De Morgan, 1839-1917, British

 

 

 

 

 

The Cadence of Autumn, oil on canvas, 1905

Evelyn de Morgan, 1855-1919, British. 

Thought to be a meditation by the artist upon entering the last stage (cadence) of her life.  

 

 

 

The reputations of William and Evelyn de Morgan have long been in eclipse

 

even if that of William Morris, a close friend of William de Morgan, has not faded.  No more than the reputation of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and those of some of the male artists who joined them.

 

The museum noted that pottery is the work of artisans and artisanship has never had the status of fine art. 

 

In the case of Evelyn De Morgan, it is sufficient that she is a woman to have had her work forgotten.  Nor is she the only female Pre-Raphaelite whose name is not widely known. 

Despite work of great skill, beauty and heart.