ANDRE BAUD

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Iconic French ceramist from the 1950s in Vallauris, France. Born in 1903 in Gironde, André Baud studied at the School of Fine Arts in Bourges from 1920 to 1923 and received the Grand Prize for Ceramics in 1923. He continued his training at the School of Applied Arts in Paris from 1923 to 1926 , and in 1925 he obtained an award at the International Exhibition of Decorative Arts.

From 1926 to 1940, he worked in various art workshops and ceramic companies (earthenware in Paris, earthenware in Orleans, Norman ceramics, etc.) while participating in exhibitions of the time (the Salon des Indépendants, the Salon of Decorative Artists, the Salon d'Automne).

In 1940, he married Micheline Bour. The couple arrived in Vallauris in 1942 and rented a factory from the Milazzo family which they would later buy. He set up a sales shop there run by Micheline, which thus distributed the production of culinary, utilitarian and decorative ceramics.

Based in Vallauris, after Suzanne Ramié (Madoura workshop), André Baud actively participated in the renaissance of ceramics in Vallauris, with Robert Picault and Roger Capron (the Callis workshop in 1945). In the summer of 1946, the trio (Madoura, Baud and Callis) organized the first exhibition of potters from Vallauris in the hall of the Nérolium, which later became the Biennale Internationale de la Céramique d’Art de Vallauris.

In this time of golden age, the joy of living invades the city of potters, friendships are created with Henri Grailhe, Picasso, Paul Eluard ... Thus is formed the group of five, composed of André Baud, Roger Capron, Jacques Innocenti, Robert Picault and the pottery of the great oak.

André Baud is very committed to defending ceramics and the arts of fire. He actively participates in local life to promote the profession in France and abroad. From 1959 to 1962, he was president of the Vallaurian Association for Ceramic Expansion (AVEC) and vice-president of the municipal commission for cultural affairs. In 1962, during the trip to a Hungarian town twinned with Vallauris, he presented an exhibition of works by French pottery artists. 

But in 1969, he had to sell his factory to face financial difficulties. In the Charentes, he tries in the family house with a new oven to continue his activity, which will be exhibited at the Château du Douet.

André Baud contributed to modern ceramics by bringing a personal style and identity to his work.

In utilitarian production for the art of the table, he created unique decorative pieces of high quality, often decorated on a range of matt satin backgrounds ranging from silky black to pure white. Looking for white and matte black for the exterior, are sometimes associated with enamels of bright colors for the interior. The forms are simple, sober and pure to express an elaborate graphic design, which refers to the ceramist's passion for the world of the cosmos and astral physics, as well as floral or animal elements.

The work of the ceramist has been rewarded with numerous prizes:

International Exhibition Albisola 1958: vermeil medal

Silver medal of the exhibition of arts and crafts techniques, Paris, 1961

Chain of craft union of crafts Paris 1963: diploma of honor

Gold medal at the ceramics festival, Albisola, 1963

Honorary diploma from the craftsmen and art creators fair, 1964

Istanbul 1964 International Ceramic Art Exhibition: Honorary Diploma

Diploma of honor at the national competition for ceramic art, 1966

International Biennial of art ceramics Vallauris 1969: honorary diploma

Sources:

Artist's website

Marks and signatures of art ceramics from the Côte d'Azur, Jean-Claude Martin, Edition Sudarène, 2009

French ceramics of the 1950s, Staudenmeyer Pierre - Norma Editions, 2004.