The French artist René Lalique helped to define the aesthetic of the Art Nouveau movement with his masterful glass pieces and jewelry. Lalique's trademark style features fluid lines, and the colors he chose, such as plum, turquoise, yellow, and black, make him the indisputable master of Art Nouveau jewelry design. In 1881, Lalique began his career as a freelance jewelry designer for Cartier and Boucheron, and in 1885, he took over a workshop in Paris, where he rejected the trend for diamonds, instead focusing on using gemstones together with plique-á-jour enameling for his creations. Lalique produced spectacular sculptural pieces, seamlessly weaving fantasy and nature together. Entering into the 1900s, he began using glass to create an array of decorative pieces and soon became a master glassmaker. In 1905, Lalique opened a new boutique in Paris that offered both jewelry and glass, and by 1909, he had opened his own glassworks just outside of Paris, that allowed him to work with his preferred demicristal type of glass. Lalique's original, turn-of-the-century pieces can be found in museums around the world.
