Julia Frezin-Van Zype

JULIA FREZIN-VAN ZYPE (Belgium,1870-1950).
Jug.
Silver-plated pewter.
Signed on the back.
Foundry stampH. Luppens & Cie.
Weight: 2.300 g.
Measurements: 35 cm. (height) x 15 cm. (largest diameter).

This Art Nouveau vase, with a markedly naturalistic inspiration, has a bulbous body and a handle ingeniously modeled in the form of branches. Both the neck and the body are profusely decorated with flowering plants. The piece is signed and bears the stamp of the publisher H. Luppens et Cie of Brussels.

Julia Frezin-Van Zype, daughter of the painter Louis Frezin (Belgium, 1830-1903), forged her own artistic career. After obtaining two diplomas as a drawing teacher (1887 and 1888), she became the first woman to be enrolled at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels when it opened its doors to female students in September 1889. A student of Jean-François Portaels, Frezin-Van Zype excelled not only in painting, but also as a sculptor and in metal art. Her works, which include bronze busts (such as the one presented at the Antwerp Salon of 1899) and Art Nouveau vases and decorative metal objects, are today sought-after pieces in galleries and auctions.

H. Luppens & Cie was a famous foundry in Brussels, Belgium, operating in the 19th century. They specialized in bronzes, furniture, clocks, clocks, ceiling lamps.