Georges Fouquet (1862-1957) was the son of the successful Parisian jeweler Alphonse Fouquet (1828-1911), who created Neo-Renaissance jewelry. Le Maison Fouquet was founded in 1860. His Art Nouveau creations delighted the public with fine craftsmanship and design. There are several famous examples of Fouquet gemstones, including specially shaped polished opals; at least two such specimens are in the collection of the Musée Petit Palais in Paris. Georges Fouquet is best known for his Art Nouveau jewelry. This is not surprising, because Alphonse Mucha himself had a hand in the design. Their cooperation proved to be extremely successful, which was shown by the success of the company at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1900.
Another permanent designer of Georges Fouquet was Charles Derosier, a student of Eugène Grasset, one of the pioneers of Art Nouveau. Thanks to his design, Maison Fouquet jewelry has become more elegant. Derosier’s designs were hugely popular, being praised for their beauty, use of color and material.
Georges Fouquet’s most famous enamel painter was Étienne Tourette, who also worked for Henri Vever. Tourette was taught the plique-á-jour technique by his teacher Louis Wuillon. Tourette also used his own techniques to achieve an incredibly beautiful effect: in the process of enamelling, he added tiny pieces of silver, gold or platinum (so-called “pylons”), which created an additional shine on the surface of the enamel.
In those years, the magnificent Sarah Bernard shone on the stage of Paris. Alphonse Mucha worked a lot for the theater – he created posters, costume designs, stage design. For the play “Medea”, Alphonse Mucha depicted on the poster the main character standing over a lifeless body with a dagger in her hand. The other hand was decorated with an amulet in the form of a snake. This touch of the image inspired Sarah Bernhardt to commission Georges Fouquet a bracelet in the form of a snake designed by Alphonse Mucha. In this bracelet, she went on stage in the roles of Medea and Cleopatra.