Montigny-sur-Loing's earthenware factory

In the nineteenth century, Seine & Loing was a place of great creativity. With the arrival of the railway, a very eclectic circle of artists and intellectuals moved into the local area, far from the studios of the city. Among them, a significant community of artistic ceramicists grew in Montigny-sur-Loing. From the end of the nineteenth to the middle of the twentieth century, the town was home to potteries. Eugène Schopin, founder of the first studio in 1872, called on the services of painters to decorate his ceramics and create a range of models inspired by impressionism. A number of ceramics factories grew around this trend. The most famous factories, such as those of Georges Delvaux (1834-1909), Albert Boué (1862-1918) and Charles Alphonse Petit (1862-1927), remained in operation until 1922.
At the cutting-edge of innovation, these ceramicists developed the Barbotine decoration process, which used clay coloured with metal oxides. Pieces produced by the Montignons workshops received awards at World Fairs (Paris and Amsterdam) and were sold as far away as the United States.
While the last workshop, purchased by Jean Renoir (who was a painter and ceramicist, as well as a film director) for his friend Louis Baude, closed in 1958, many artisans in the local area are now opening their doors to the general public.
Ceramicists, fine leather craftsmen, cutlers... Do not hesitate to seek out these artisans and discover their know-how.