Charles Catteau

Charles Catteau was born in 1880, in Douai, Northern France, to a Belgian father and a French mother. He attended courses at the National School of Ceramics in Sèvres, where he completed a degree in ceramic engineering. In 1903, he was hired at the Manufacture Nationale de Sèvres, where he proved to be a prolific worker, creating ten vases, two bowls, and designing 53 vase projects in his brief tenure alone (just 18 months).

Between 1904 and 1906, he worked at the Nymphenburg ceramic factory in Munich, Germany. During this period, he also occasionally collaborated with the Rambervillers ceramics factory (in Eastern France). 

Always on the lookout for innovative ideas, Boch Frères, the owners of Keramis (created in 1841 and located in La Louvière, Belgium) recruited Catteau from Nymphenburg in 1906. A year later, Catteau took charge of the Atelier de Fantaisie, the decoration section, which he would lead until 1948. At the same time, he taught at the industrial school of La Louvière, where he trained ceramists, glassblowers, and decorative painters. In 1910, he received his first gold medal for his work.

Inspired by Art Nouveau and later by Art Deco, he initiated a innovation in form, decoration, and the use of glazes. Both Catteau and Boch Frères were awarded prizes for the quality and design of their industrial creations in 1925 at the International Exhibition of Paris. The great reputation of Catteau's creations for Keramis was partly made possible by the distribution of his designs through the art workshops of major French department stores: La Maîtrise of Galeries Lafayette, Pomone of Bon Marché, and Primavera of Le Printemps (notably within their pavilions at the 1925 Paris Exhibition). 

Charles Catteau successfully combined creativity with the demands of large-scale production. He created timeless pieces that were produced for many years; and over time, the artist’s signature, stamped on each piece, became well prized. Although he was not the creator of every piece, he controlled the models, colors, glaze compositions, and can be credited with their artistic brilliance. He shaped the Keramis’ identity, becoming known to all as the "man of Keramis."