Suzanne Ramié (1905-1974) for Madoura - Glazed ceramic vase

Suzanne Ramié (1905-1974) for the Madoura workshop. Glazed ceramic soliflore vase. Signed with the stamp underneath "Madoura plein feu" Tall piriform body ending in a very long straight neck topped with a small lip, minimalism by Suzanne Ramié. Beautiful blue-grey glaze. Circa 1950. Diameter: 8cm. Height: 29.5cm. Perfect condition. *Founder of the Madoura Workshop in Vallauris, she is globally recognised for having introduced Pablo Picasso to ceramics and for being one of the leading figures in the revival of the arts of fire after the Second World War. Born in Lyon, she studied decorative drawing and ceramics at the École nationale des Beaux-Arts in Lyon. She began her career as a textile designer in Lyon, then as an art director in an advertising agency in Cannes. In 1938, she moved with her husband, Georges Ramié, to Vallauris. The town was then an old traditional pottery centre in economic decline. The couple took over a disused pottery workshop and its old wood-fired kilns to establish the Madoura brand (an acronym combining the first letters of Maison Douly Ramié). In 1946, during the exhibition "Pottery, Flowers and Perfumes" organised in Vallauris, Pablo Picasso visited the Madoura workshop. Fascinated by the material, he created his first three pieces in clay on site. From 1947, Picasso settled in Vallauris. Suzanne Ramié made her workshop, workers, and clays available to him and patiently taught him the secrets of firing and glazing. Madoura became the place of creation and the exclusive publisher of Picasso's ceramics. This international collaboration brought Vallauris to the forefront of the global art scene and attracted other creators such as Marc Chagall, Henri Matisse, and Victor Brauner. Although her role as a mentor to Picasso sometimes overshadowed her personal work, Suzanne Ramié had a brilliant career as a creator of forms and interior decorator.