ALEXANDRE BAILLY (1866-1947)

French designer, painter and decorator.
Born in the 11th arrondissement of Paris on December 14, 1866. He studied in the workshops of Auguste Rubé (1817-1899) and Philippe Chaperon (1823-1906). In 1894, at the age of eighteen, he joined the studio of Marcel Jambon (1848-1908), Parisian decorator, whose son-in-law he became by marrying his daughter Louise Suzanne Jambon, in Paris on May 29, 1894. The workshop, located in the 19th arrondissement of Paris at 73 rue de Secretant, will create many sets for the greatest Parisian theatres including: the Opera from 1895 (including Frédégonde, and Esclarmonde until 1923, La Burgonde by Paul Vidal in 1898), the Opéra-Comique from 1903 to 1924, the Comédie Française, the Théâtre du Châtelet, the Ambigu, the Théâtre du Palais-Royal, les Bouffes-Parisiennes, le Vaudeville, le Théâtre Sarah Bernhardt, l'Odéon, le Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin, le Théâtre Antoine, le Théâtre du Gymnase. With Marcel Jambon, Alexandre Bailly will decorate famous plays and operas such as Ariane, le Crépuscule des Dieux, Hamlet, Roma, Tristan and Isolde, Armide, Astarte, les Barbares, le Carillonneur, Daria, L'Étranger, Faust, Frédégonde, Gretna Green, Hansli the hunchback, Hellé, the Lake of Alders, Messidor, the Miracle, Paillasse, the Taking of Troy, the Round of Seasons, the Spell, the Brief Life. He will also work for the Comte de Clermont-Tonnerre theatre, for companies such as the Wagons-Lits theatre, private clubs and sports clubs, as well as for public monuments such as the Béziers arenas. He made long study trips around the world, including to Europe, India, Turkey, Egypt, Siberia and Russia, Japan and China. He took part in the 1900 Universal Exhibition, taking part in a panorama on the theme of Transsiberian China. In the 1920s, he partnered with Henri Niépce and created sets for silent cinema. From 1908, at the death of Marcel Jambon, Alexandre Bailly assumed sole management of the workshop.