ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts covered in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book argues that Galle and his fellow arts reformers placed an enormous importance on the ability of the decorative arts to communicate profound truths and also perceived them as playing a pivotal role in defining what it meant to be French. In fin-de-siecle France, events such as the Franco-Prussian War, the resulting annexation of Alsace-Lorraine and the spread of colonialism, increasingly called into question the nature of national identity. The book explores the relationship between Galle's early works and Japanese art in light of the artist's efforts to define a national style based on depiction of native flora and fauna. It focuses on works produced in the context of the Dreyfus Affair, arguing that Galle's ongoing efforts to articulate a political art in the service of the nation led him to define a Republican aesthetic premised on the defense of individual rights.
