Plate from the Rousseau service

After making his name as a painter and printmaker, Braquemond petitioned Napoleon III in hopes of decorating porcelain for Sèvres, one of the highest regarded roles for a French artist at the time. After finding Sèvres too restrictive, Braquemond designed this service for the ceramic dealer Eugène Rousseau. Also known as le Service Japonais, its decoration directly from inspired by Japanese print sources. Félix Bracquemond and his close friends Édouard Manet, James McNeill Whistler were among the first Parisians to collect Japanese prints.