Bernard Palissy (1510 - 1589)

Bernard Palissy (1510 - 1589) - photo 1

Bernard Palissy

Bernard Palissy was a French natural scientist, painter, ceramicist and sculptor, geologist and writer of the French Renaissance.

Born into a family of artisans, Palissy apprenticed with his father as a glass artist and traveled throughout southwestern France comprehending pottery and studying geology. Today he is best known for his amazing lead-glazed pottery with images of various animals and people. After seeing a white glazed cup, probably of Chinese porcelain, in the 1540s, he set out to learn the secrets of its manufacture. His early research is described in De l'art de la terre. Although Palissy never succeeded in reproducing what he saw, his experiments gave him a thorough knowledge of the chemical compositions of minerals.

From 1575 in Paris, Palissy gave public lectures on natural history, which were published as Discours admirables (1580). In this treatise, Bernard Palissy touches on an incredibly wide range of subjects, from the techniques of ceramics, metallurgy and chemistry to hydrology, geology and fossils. He correctly identified fossils as the remains of ancient life. This work reveals him as a writer and scientist, a creator of modern agronomy and a pioneer of the experimental method, with scientific views generally more advanced than those of his contemporaries.

Date and place of birt:1510, Saintes, France
Date and place of death:1589, Paris, France
Period of activity: XVI century
Specialization:Artist, Ceramist, Geographer, Geologist, Glass painter, Naturalist, Porcelain painter, Sculptor, Writer
Genre:Animalistic
Art style:Renaissance

Creators Renaissance

Johannes Crastonis (XV century - 1498)
Johannes Crastonis
XV century - 1498
Giovanni Francesco Bezzi (1500 - 1571)
Giovanni Francesco Bezzi
1500 - 1571
Giulio Bonasone (1498 - 1574)
Giulio Bonasone
1498 - 1574
Domenico Campagnola (1500 - 1564)
Domenico Campagnola
1500 - 1564
Teodoro Riccio (1540 - 1603)
Teodoro Riccio
1540 - 1603
Hans Brosamer (1495 - 1554)
Hans Brosamer
1495 - 1554
Angelos Akotantos (1390 - 1457)
Angelos Akotantos
1390 - 1457
Reinhold Vasters (1827 - 1909)
Reinhold Vasters
1827 - 1909
Abraham Howarts (Govaerts) (1589 - 1626)
Abraham Howarts (Govaerts)
1589 - 1626
Master of the Die (1512 - 1570)
Master of the Die
1512 - 1570
Giovanni Bellini (1430 - 1516)
Giovanni Bellini
1430 - 1516
Hieronymus Hopfer (1500 - 1550)
Hieronymus Hopfer
1500 - 1550
 Vecchietta (1412 - 1480)
Vecchietta
1412 - 1480
Girolamo da Treviso II (1498 - 1544)
Girolamo da Treviso II
1498 - 1544
Francesco Stelluti (1577 - 1652)
Francesco Stelluti
1577 - 1652
Luca Penni (1500 - 1556)
Luca Penni
1500 - 1556
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