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At the end of the 19th century, for art, it was an era of "light." The emergence of Impressionism in painting led artists to explore new materials like glass, allowing sculpture to transcend bronze and marble, embracing light and color. Henri Edmond Cross and François Décorchemont became pioneers of the French pâte-de-verre technique, expanding the realm of glass's light and color. At the same time, driven by Émile Gallé, this new artistic material of glass also excited masters such as Rodin, Picasso, and Dalí.
Decorchemont came from an artistic family; his father was a sculptor. Well-educated, Décorchemont was proficient in mineralogy and chemistry, and was a man of extensive knowledge. A close friend of Monet and deeply influenced by Impressionism, he wished to preserve the color and texture of painting in glass. Originally studying ceramic art, he discovered that cast glass displayed transparent and translucent colors that could perfectly capture light, color, and the flow of time. Thus, Décorchemont embarked on the exploration of the lost-wax casting process. In those days, the color of glass was as enchanting and uncontrollable as the unpredictable natural world or a restless furnace fire. Without computerized temperature control and only coal-fired kilns, "color fixing" was nearly impossible because glass powder would flow everywhere under high temperatures. Yet, Décorchemont achieved precise color fixing, breaking through with extraordinary technical prowess, creating his own language, and giving glass the texture of painting! He can be regarded as an Impressionist master of glass art.