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

Michele Tosini (1503 - 1577)
Michele Tosini
1503 - 1577
Jean Fouquet (1420 - 1481)
Jean Fouquet
1420 - 1481
Peter Paul Rubens (1577 - 1640)
Peter Paul Rubens
1577 - 1640
Gentile Bellini (1429 - 1507)
Gentile Bellini
1429 - 1507
Filippo Lippi (1406 - 1469)
Filippo Lippi
1406 - 1469
 Monogrammist L.C. (XVI century - ?)
Monogrammist L.C.
XVI century - ?
Carlo di Cesare del Palagio (1538 - 1598)
Carlo di Cesare del Palagio
1538 - 1598
Vincenzo Maria Coronelli (1650 - 1718)
Vincenzo Maria Coronelli
1650 - 1718
Giovanni Battista Moroni (1521 - 1579)
Giovanni Battista Moroni
1521 - 1579
Mario Cartaro (1540 - 1620)
Mario Cartaro
1540 - 1620
Dalmasio di Jacopo Scannabecchi (1315 - 1374)
Dalmasio di Jacopo Scannabecchi
1315 - 1374
Gregorio di Lorenzo (1436 - 1504)
Gregorio di Lorenzo
1436 - 1504
Francesco Morandini (1544 - 1597)
Francesco Morandini
1544 - 1597
Gherardo di Giovanni del Fora (1445 - 1497)
Gherardo di Giovanni del Fora
1445 - 1497
Bertolino de’ Grossi (XIV century - 1464)
Bertolino de’ Grossi
XIV century - 1464
 Maître de Jean Rolin (XV century - ?)
Maître de Jean Rolin
XV century - ?
× Create a Search Subscription