Thomas-Victor Sergent (1830 - 1890)

A career soldier, Thomas Victor Sergent became friends with the Barbizet family and married one of their daughters. Passionate and enterprising, he left the army to devote himself entirely to ceramics. In 1876, he set up his studio at 106 Avenue d'Orléans in Montrouge, south of Paris, where he enjoyed a particularly successful career for around ten years.

His early works show the influence of his father-in-law Barbizet, to the extent that some pieces are still confusedly attributed to one studio or the other. Very quickly, however, Sergent asserted himself with a personal style and great technical mastery. He exhibited at several international events: Vienna in 1873, London in 1874, Paris in 1878—where he won a bronze medal at the Universal Exhibition—and then Amsterdam in 1883.

A conscientious and prolific artist, he created original forms and compositions in a wide variety of styles, ranging from monumental pieces to more intimate subjects. Sergent developed a highly plastic clay and deep glazes with refined marbling effects, often mixed with blues and browns. His colors, more vivid and contrasting than those of his contemporaries, nevertheless retain a softness that is unique to him. His bestiary, both modeled and molded with vigor, is distinguished by its expressiveness and singular sculptural presence.