“The Art Nouveau Jewelry of Marie Molitor: A Timeless Belgian Fashion Statement”

During the Belle Époque, ‘bijoux d'artiste’, or artist's jewelry, became an important branch of the decorative arts in Belgium. The jewelry work of artists such as Philippe Wolfers (1858-1929) and Henry van de Velde (1863-1957) is well-known, but the fine work of many of their colleagues remain shrouded in obscurity. Artemis Adamakopoulou and Jakob Vandenberghe looked in contemporary fashion magazines, salon catalogs, and design press, and selected two interesting cases. The first one is that of Marie Molitor (dates unknown), a painter, designer, and journalist who made a few pieces of avant-garde jewelry around 1903. The second one is Auguste Feys (dates unknown), a Brussels jeweler who also made some well-received art nouveau pieces around the turn of the century. With their research and the upcoming exhibition, Adamakopoulou and Vandenberghe hope to bring these forgotten figures and their work back to life.

 

Another aim is to recreate one of the jewelry pieces using 3D modeling and 3D printing. In doing so, we aim to materialize a historic piece of jewelry that exists in image only in order to help people better understand its design and history.