A marketing executive based in Naples, FL, George Richards is the chairman and president of Sempris, LLC, a marketing agency headquartered in Minnesota. George Richards enjoys a variety of hobbies, including collecting works by French artist Jean-Charles Avisseau.
Born in the late 18th century, Jean-Charles Avisseau’s ceramics feature highly realistic depictions of creatures from the natural world such as birds, snakes, lizards, and insects. The dishes, vases, and basins created by Avisseau are finished in brightly colored glazes that point to the vibrant, fluid colors sometimes found in nature.
Jean-Charles Avisseau’s creations were frequently inspired by the work of Bernard Palissy, an artist of the Renaissance period. Palissy was well-known for his knowledge of natural history, painting, glass making, and geology, making him a true Renaissance man. His three dimensional ceramic art featured natural scenes with highly detailed depictions of fish, lizards, insects, and plants. Each item was cast using real animals and plants, ensuring a lifelike and realistic result.
Palissy’s work, which he called “art of the earth,” became so popular during the 16th century that Catherine de Medici, the Queen of France, became his patron. In the centuries that followed, other artists replicated what came to be known as Palissy Ware. The most well known of these artists was Jean-Charles Avisseau.
