Palissy, Bernard

He had no formal training, but Palissy became a scientist, land-surveyor, religious reformer, garden designer, glassblower, painter, chemist, geologist, philosopher, and writer. He is best known as a ceramicist. An outspoken Huguenot, he was imprisoned more than once for his religious beliefs. The first time he was released at the request of his influential Catholic patron, Anne de Montmorency, and became an artist for Catherine de'Medici, the French queen. Palissy's best known work is ware produced by attaching casts of dead lizards, snakes, and shellfish to traditional ceramic forms such as basins, ewers, and plates. He then painted these wares in blue, green, purple, and brown, and glazed them with a runny lead-based glaze to increase their watery realism. Beginning in 1575, Palissy gave public lectures in Paris on natural history which, when published as "Discours admirables,' became extremely popular. He was later imprisoned as a Protestant and died two years later.