The Dragonfly corsage by René Lalique

Once in a while you meet a piece of art that just captivates you. This has been the case for me with the Dragonfly corsage by René Lalique and I would love to share the fascination of this brilliant piece as well as the artist and unique Art Nouveau style in which it was created.

The Artist

Few works capture the spirit of the Art Nouveau era quite like René Lalique’s Dragonfly Corsage — a stunning fusion of nature, symbology, and innovation. The piece was created around 1897–1898 in his Paris studio. René Lalique (1860–1945) began his career as a traditional jeweller, but quickly set himself apart by defying convention, pushing boundaries and embracing new techniques. While the late 19th century jewellery was dominated by precious gemstones like diamonds, Lalique championed other materials such as enamel, glass, horn, and semi-precious stones. He chose his materials based on aesthetics and artistic impact, not preciousness. His emphasis was on creating jewellery with symbology, imagination and otherworldliness. The Dragonfly corsage was first exhibited at the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1900 where it was a great success and cemented Lalique as the defining artist of the Art Nouveau movement. A movement where organic forms, flowing lines, and mythological imagery reigned supreme.

The Dragonfly-Woman Hybrid

The Dragonfly Corsage is nearly 30 centimetres tall and could be described as more sculpture than adornment. Its form is both mesmerizing, magical and also slightly unsettling. It is a hybrid creature with the head and torso of a woman and the wings and body of a dragonfly.

Lalique’s design merges beauty and danger, reflecting the era’s fascination with femme fatale archetypes — women seen as both alluring and threatening. The insect-woman motif embodies transformation, flight, and the ephemeral nature of life, all recurring Art Nouveau themes.

Materials and Technique

Lalique combined gold, enamel, chrysoprase, moonstones, calcedony and diamonds to create an iridescent, lifelike effect. Each of the stones carried considered symbology leading the piece to symbolise Art Nouveau through, transformation, change, freshness and femininity. His innovative use of plique-à-jour enamel — a technique resembling stained glass — allowed light to pass through the wings, giving them an ethereal glow. This elevated the Dragonfly corsage to a status of wearable sculpture. New for the time, the wings and tail were segmented and hinged allowing for movement that would have made the dragonfly seem to shimmer and come alive - it must have been absolutely stunning seeing this piece come to life on a dark evening dress.

The corsage is today residing in the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum in Lisbon, where I will definitely try to see and experience it as soon as I can.

Dragonfly corsage photographs from the Calouste Glubenkian Museum website: René Lalique Room - Museu Calouste Gulbenkian