Old enamels of Geneva

Enamelling is an age-old technique in Geneva. References to jewel enamelling dating back to the early 15th century by Genevan goldsmiths - some of whom we know by name - for the Court of Savoy and for the Genevan nobility, testify to an already thriving and much appreciated art. Their work has unfortunately disappeared, or has not been identified, and only rare examples from the 16th century can be cited. H. Naef recalls that Jean Duvet, alias Droz of Dijon, admitted in 1541 as burgher of Geneva where he produced frescoes and stained-glass windows, was the author in 1555 of the “staff of justice carried by Sgr. Lieutenant,” and identifies him with a mace held at the Hôtel-de-Ville in Geneva: the coat of arms is in enamel.

The Museum of Art and History is home to a gold ring setting from the 17th century which contains, under a crystal, a small figure of an enthroned king: canting arms of the Royaume family, a dynasty of Genevan pewterers of the 16th century. It is traditionally attributed to Catherine Cheytel, the wife of pewterer Pierre Royaume - originally from Lyon, who moved to Geneva in 1572 and became a burgher in 1598 - the legendary “Mother Royaume” who, on the day of the "'Escalade" in 1602, helped defend the town by throwing her cooking pot - or, rather, pewter pot - onto the assailants. “She is wearing, in a crystal medallion chaton setting, the figure of a king in high relief, wearing a crown and gold breastplate, and holding a sceptre. The background is enamelled in blue, apart from the gold sun, the figure is in white, the throne a beautiful transparent red; the body of the ring is enamelled in white and red. This small and very precious item of jewellery gives perhaps an idea of the technique of relief enamel”.

The art of enamelling was transformed in the 17th century by a new process, that of miniature painting on enamel. It was without doubt begun by French goldsmith Jean Toutin, born in Châteaudun in 1578, who worked at Blois and at Châteaudun and died in Paris in 1644, although no enamel of his has passed down to us for certain, and was used successfully by his son Henry, who was born in Châteaudun in 1614 and died in Paris after 1683. The Geneva Museum is home to a major work of Henry Toutin, "Alexander in the tent of Darius", by Lebrun, which, signed and dated in 1671, has however been attributed in the past to Petitot.

Invented in France, enamel painting was introduced to Geneva in the 17th century, no one knows by whom - not at any rate by Petitot, who did not spend any length of time in his native town before 1687. Its delicate patterns and rich colours were applied to portraits and scenes decorating watches, snuffboxes and jewels. Along with its close association with the crafts of goldwork and watchmaking, the technique of painting on enamel has ensured that the reputation of the miniaturists of Geneva - all of whom decorated watches - lives on to this day. It is they, for example, who invented what is known as "enamel under flux" or "Geneva enamel" used after 1760; this colourless layer is machine-polished and acts as a protective glaze on the painting, making it possible to dispense with the external watch case. “The effects of this technique meant that Genevan enamel painting, with its distinctive appearance, ranked supreme in Europe”. Enamelling thereafter became a quintessentially Genevan art. “Geneva occupies an important place in the history of enamel; it has continued the inheritance of Blois painting and given it a definitive expression. It could almost be said that, without Geneva, there would have been no enamel art in Europe in the 18th and early 19th-century.”

Petitot and Bordier, wrote Rigaud in 1845, were the first of the true Genevan artists. “Indeed, with Petitot, painted enamel immediately achieved an artistic and technical perfection rarely equalled since. Jean I Petitot was born in Geneva in 1607. Following his apprenticeship to jeweller and goldsmith Pierre Bordier, he travelled to France with his master where both began enamel painting in Blois with its inventor, Jean Toutin. Moving to England in 1637, they started up a workshop and built a great reputation for themselves. Petitot left Pierre Bordier in London and settled in Paris in 1644 with Jacques Bordier, Pierre's cousin, whom he met in London. He would now work with this painter on enamel until the latter's death. As a Huguenot, the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes forced him to flee France. After a further spell in London in 1686, he settled in Geneva and died at Vevey in 1691. The Museum of Geneva owns several enamel pieces attesting to the artist's worth. “From a very sober palette, he draws admirable colour effects; nothing comes close to the appearance and contours of his outstanding portraits which are miniscule works of art, generally no more than 30 millimetres in size, designed for decorating cases, medallions or bracelets”.

His son Jean II Petitot, born in 1653, entered the profession by working first in Paris with his father and then in England; he returned to Paris and died in his château de Maison-Seule at La Queue-en-Brie. The father's reputation overshadowed that of the son who, judging from the portraits known to us, was considerably talented in his own right. “His brushwork, dismissed by some as lacking finesse, ultimately earned him a château... The fact that an enamel portraitist was able to purchase a property is worthy of note. The reputation of Petitot the son can only benefit from it”.

Although several enamel pieces by Pierre Bordier are known to us, we have no works signed by Jacques Bordier, Jean I Petitot's collaborator and brother-in-law, who was born in Geneva in 1616 and died at Blois in 1684.

The Huaud brothers rank just as highly as Jean Petitot. “In all their works, the Huaud brothers remained foremost among the enamel painters of the 17th and 18th centuries”. “The Huaud brothers would raise the workshops of Geneva to the same artistic level as those of Blois in the art of watch decoration”. Indeed, it was largely to them that Geneva owed the boom in watch decoration from which it would long benefit. The son of a goldsmith from Poitiers, Pierre I Huaud was born in Châtellerault around 1612 and moved to Geneva in 1630 at 18 years of age. Apprenticed to the goldsmith Laurent Légaré, he was admitted as master goldsmith and burgher in 1671, and died in 1680. He specialised without doubt in painting on enamel - he may perhaps have stopped by at Blois - but no work can be attributed to him with certainty. M. E. Jaquet claims him as the author of an enamelled watch in the Museum of Cluny, made by the Genevan watchmaker Martin Duboule. His three sons were trained by him and undoubtedly worked with him until his death.

Pierre II, the eldest, born in Geneva in 1647, spent an initial period in 1685 at the Court of the Elector of Brandenburg, returned to Geneva in 1686, then set off for Germany where he was appointed court painter to the Elector; he died there sometime after 1696 and before 1698. The most able and yet the least well-known of the three brothers, he signed his works - the oldest dated piece is from 1679 - “Pierre Huaud the elder,” or “Petrus Huaud major natu,” as seen on two watches and a portrait of 1688 painted by him in Geneva and kept there in its museum. The second son of Pierre I, Jean-Pierre Huaud (1655-1723), signed only “Huaud le Puisné”; the third, Ami Huaud (1657-1724), never signed alone but jointly with Jean-Pierre. Their joint signature is “the two brothers Huaud the younger,” “the two brothers Huaud” or “the brothers Huaud”. Born in Geneva, they were appointed in 1686 as enamel painters to the Elector of Brandenburg and returned in 1700 to their native town where they stayed until their death. François Huaud, son of Jean-Pierre (1701-1729), continued this artistic dynasty but died aged 28 before he had the chance to produce much and show the measure of his talent.

Théodore Turquet of Mayerne, born in Geneva in 1575, was a doctor and chemist. He settled in Paris as first physician to Henri IV, and subsequently in England to James I; he returned to Switzerland following the King's execution, where he held the title of Baron of Aubonne in 1620; he returned to England and died in Chelsea in 1655. His place in the history of Genevan art is secured as a result of the enamel portraits he made in Paris and London and his research into the colours needed for this technique. He discovered a purple pigment by perfecting copper plates, the base for the enamel paste used for painting. He disclosed his discoveries to Petitot with whom he is associated.

Painting on enamel was at its height in the 18th century in terms of the standard and number of its exponents - numbering 77 in 1789; their brisk output had to satisfy the many orders placed locally and further afield. The best Genevan painters tried their hand at it early in their careers or as a leisure pursuit:

E. Liotard (1702-1789), several of whose works are owned by the Museum of Geneva, a mythological scene, “Diana and Endymion,” which he painted in 1722 at the age of 20; portrait of Marie-Thérèse of Austria, based on the pastel of 1744; an enamelled watch is also known to be his; François Ferrière (1752-1839).

Among the most renowned painters are:

• • Alexandre de la Chana (1703-1765), German cousin of Jacques Bordier; 
• • Jacques Thouron (1749-1789), first-rate portraitist, who left for Paris where he was appointed “peintre de Monsieur”; 
• • Jean-François Soiron (1756-1812), of impeccable skill, too perfect to not be a little cold”; 
• • Jean-Abrahant Lissignol (1749-1819); 
• • Henri L'Evêque (1769-1832); 
• • Jean-Louis Richter (1766-1841), his snuffboxes depicting landscapes and figures are among the most accomplished works of the late 18th century and can be admired at the Museum of Geneva.

At that time, and in the early 19th century, Genevan enamel painting was at its height. The painters combined an unsurpassable technique with a sure and finely nuanced artistic sense of scale and harmony. 

The painters of the 19th century would carry forward these admirable technical qualities in enamel portraiture and watch decoration alike. However, the second quarter of the century saw a stiffness and coldness enter their work as a result of excessive detail and a dryness of execution, often making them no match for their predecessors. New economic circumstances and changes in taste put paid to fine enamelled watches and snuffboxes and many other items of jewellery that once demanded enamel. One might say that the 19th century saw the decline in an art that had reached extraordinary heights in the 18th century. Our contemporary artists have had the job of reinstating and finding new applications for it, often successfully doing so.

International Review of Ancient and Contemporary Art / W. DEONNA