Georges Jouve was working as a theater designer when World War II broke out. He spent the war seeking refuge in the Free Zone of the South of France, where he happened upon the region’s tradition of ceramics, learning the local potters’ secrets. In 1944 he opened his studio in Paris, and in the years that followed, he would go on to become a leading ceramicist of the mid 20th century. With a background in art history and sculpture, Jouve created strong and sinuous shapes—sometimes influenced by the religious figures he encountered in southern France—which he covered with rich enamel.