Gabriel Argy-Rousseau Night Light – Pâte de Verre ‘Fruits et Feuilles’

Argy-Rousseau’s near-unique ability to gracefully soften the starkness of Art Deco design without ever sacrificing the strength of the design is on full display in this remarkable, petite masterpiece. Argy Rousseau’s Fruits et Feuilles nightlight draws its inspiration from the foliate and floriate motifs found in medieval marginalia. The berries depicted in the piece are likely strawberries, a fruit revered as a symbol of the Virgin Mary’s purity and righteousness. Their tripartite leaves symbolize the Trinity, their fruits represent drops of Christ’s blood, and the five petals of their pure white flowers serve as reminders of the five wounds of the Passion.A resurgence of interest in the Medieval era and Gothic architecture was spurred by literary trends in the early nineteenth century, particularly by Victor Hugo’s “Notre-Dame de Paris.” This novel gained instant and immense popularity, inspiring artists from various mediums to create illustrations. Salon painters, lithographers, book illustrators, caricaturists, and later, photographers, all sought to portray scenes from the novel or capture the essence of the cathedral itself. Images from “Notre-Dame de Paris” became widely accessible and known to individuals of all strata of French society, solidifying Notre-Dame Cathedral’s status as a national icon.