Antique French artist's watercolor paint box. Opening to reveal the original paper label of Parisian supplier Bourgeois Aîné affixed to the lid and a tray containing four ceramic palettes and various watercolor pans, a couple still with the embossing intact. The top tray lifts off to reveal another layer underneath which contains various pastel crayons. The wooden box retains a working lock and key. In overall good antique condition with general wear commensurate with age and use. The box measures 7 5/8 x 6 3/8 x 1 5/8" tall.
About Bourgeois Aîné:
François Alexandre Joseph Bourgeois (b. 1830) was a Parisian color maker who invented a process using alizarin lacquer which led to the production of some of the first nontoxic paints. He founded his workshop in 1867 in Paris at 18 rue Croix des Petits Champs (now 24 rue des Petits-Champs) and factories in Montreuil where he manufactured the first so-called "non-dangerous" paints. In an era where many pigments used in paints contained toxic substances like lead or arsenic, Bourgeois introduced something revolutionary: his line of “Couleurs sans danger” (“colors without danger”). These pigments were specially formulated to be safer at that time while maintaining brilliance and permanence and were especially ideal for children's paint boxes. These watercolor sets quickly became popular among both professional painters and art students in Paris during the Belle Époque. His commitment extended to the school sector, whereby the products were closely linked and advertised with traditional color theory of basic colors, mixing diagrams, color harmony. The boxes themselves were beautifully crafted—often wooden cases fitted with porcelain palettes, glass bottles for water or gum arabic, and carefully arranged cakes of color. They weren’t just tools, but elegant objects reflecting the artistic spirit of the early 1900s. Bourgeois was a visionary who sought to adapt to artists’ new lifestyles and he contributed to the development of acrylic and vinyl paints by manufacturing faster-drying paints which gave artists new possibilities for spontaneous creativity. The shop’s inventory expanded to include tubes of paint as well as a full array of artist supplies, ranging from specially designed paint boxes, brushes, pastels, watercolors, and easels, to stools, shade umbrellas, and a variety of canvases (including the wooden frame that supports the canvas of Picasso’s The Scallop Shell: “Notre Avenir est dans L’Air”, c.1912). The paint suppliers Lefranc and Bourgeois both shared vision of art and the industry resulting in the two companies coming together in 1965, in what was a merger of art and science for the benefit of every artist.