René Lalique
French (1860-1945)
Dragonfly woman corsage ornament, c. 1897-1898
gold, enamel, chrysoprase, moonstones, and diamonds
Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon
© 2000 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/ADAGP, Paris

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At the end of the nineteenth century, jewelry underwent a radical transformation--the Frenchman René Lalique was at the heart of it.

Unlike traditional jewelers, who relied almost exclusively on precious stones for effect, Lalique used a variety of materials to create incredibly rich sculptural objects that are works of art in their own right. For the head and body of the woman in this glittering brooch, he chose semiprecious apple-green chrysoprase; the dragonfly wings are made of enamel set with gold and irregular moonstones, ringed with diamonds to convey the iridescent character of insect wings. Notice how the wings are hinged in four places and the tail bends, allowing this enormous brooch to adjust to and move with the body of the person who wore it.

The brooch embodies many of the themes that characterize the Art Nouveau style. Nature, metamorphosis, and eroticism are all expressed in this disturbing, fantastical image of a bare-breasted woman emerging from a large dragonfly. When it was shown at the Paris World s Fair of 1900, one English visitor to the fair commented, "Very remarkable and startling to the observer, but is it jewelry?"

Metamorphosis, or change from one physical form to another, was a major theme for many Art Nouveau artists. Here, woman and insect are fused into an almost menacing creature with golden claws. The idea of the femme fatale, or dangerous woman, was a recurrent theme in many Art Nouveau creations.