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

Niccolò Roselli (XVI century - 1580)
Niccolò Roselli
XVI century - 1580
 Master of the Egmont Albums (XVI century - XVII century)
Master of the Egmont Albums
XVI century - XVII century
Taddeo Zuccaro (1529 - 1566)
Taddeo Zuccaro
1529 - 1566
Evert van Orley (1491 - 1527)
Evert van Orley
1491 - 1527
Cristoforo Orimina (XIV century - XIV century)
Cristoforo Orimina
XIV century - XIV century
Vincenzo Maria Coronelli (1650 - 1718)
Vincenzo Maria Coronelli
1650 - 1718
Bernardo Zenale (1463 - 1525)
Bernardo Zenale
1463 - 1525
Pieter Balten (1527 - 1584)
Pieter Balten
1527 - 1584
Paolo Uccello (1397 - 1475)
Paolo Uccello
1397 - 1475
Giorgio Ghisi (1520 - 1582)
Giorgio Ghisi
1520 - 1582
Claudio Ridolfi (Veronese) (1560 - 1644)
Claudio Ridolfi (Veronese)
1560 - 1644
 Pinturicchio (1454 - 1513)
Pinturicchio
1454 - 1513
Martin Waldseemüller (1472 - 1520)
Martin Waldseemüller
1472 - 1520
Hans Memling (1430 - 1494)
Hans Memling
1430 - 1494
Corneille de Lyon (1500 - 1575)
Corneille de Lyon
1500 - 1575
 Master of the Llangattock Epiphany (XV century - XV century)
Master of the Llangattock Epiphany
XV century - XV century
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