Richard Deck was one of the most celebrated producers of tiles, flower pots, jars, kitchen plates, bowls and cups during the early 19th century. He worked in his clay workshop in Guebwiller, a small town in the mountainous Alsace region of north-eastern France, close to the country’s borders with Germany and Switzerland.

When Richard decided that his son, Theodore, should learn the family profession and take over the business once he retired, the boy enthusiastically began following his father’s teachings.

Theodore was only 19 years old when Richard died in 1840. The members of the family, the staff at the workshop and all his father’s customers looked to Theodore to continue the family tradition. However, just a year later, the young Frenchman shocked everyone when he announced that he was now not only a pot-maker but also an artist, saying that he would transfer his artistic visions on to the glowed clay objects that his father’s factory was producing.

Forever restless and constantly working on improving his techniques by learning how things were done elsewhere in the world, Theodore made successive voyages to many neighbouring European countries, such as Switzerland, Germany, Austria and Hungary. He even temporarily opened, with the help of his brother, an additional clay workshop in Paris. Eventually though, Theodore returned to his hometown once again, transferring his artistic visions on to terracotta backgrounds.

What set Theodore Deck’s ceramic creations apart was his incorporation of Arab, Egyptian, Japanese and Chinese motifs

Despite Theodore’s talent and the celebration of his artistic creations during his own lifetime, today his name has been largely forgotten. Conscious of this grave injustice, the officials at the Theodore Deck Museum in Guebwiller have decided to celebrate the artists’ 200th birth year by holding an exhibition, conferences and various other art events, in order to remind us of Theodore’s invaluable legacy.

Theodore’s inspirations never remained limited to what he had learnt as an apprentice or during his travels across Europe. His creations were the product of an indefatigable fascination with Spanish-Arab motifs as well as old Egyptian, Japanese and Chinese figurations, sketched on baked earth backgrounds or even carved on stone objects.

It did not take the European art world very long to recognise Theodore’s genius, not just as a ceramist but more so as an artist with originality. He was awarded the highly honoured Silver Medal of Art, following the French Exhibition of Industrial Arts, held under the open sky along the sidewalks of the Champs Elysées in Paris in 1861.

The following year he was invited to the British Arts Fair, where a number of his ceramic pieces were bought by many private collectors, as well as by the Victoria and Albert Museum of London.

Following these events, his standing in the art world became indomitable. In 1872, he was raised to the much-revered French distinction Knight of the Legion of Honour, for his ceaseless and inventive contributions to fine arts.

He refused numerous offers from all over the world to become the head of museums and continued creating his own masterpieces in his modest family workshop in the little town of Guebwiller until 1887 when, following a personal a request from the newly elected president of France, Sadi Carnot, he accepted the role of Director of the Sevres Porcelain Institute, situated near Paris. He would stay there until his death in 1891, at the age of 68.

‘Theodore Deck’s 200th Birth Anniversary’ is on display at the Theodore Deck Museum in Guebwiller, France, from October 13, 2023 till March 3, 2024

The writer is an art critic based in Paris. 
He can be reached at zafmasud@gmail.com

Published in Dawn, EOS, October 8th, 2023