Movie boosts Renaissance ceramist

Since its release on Amazon Prime, Saltburn has been stirring up interest online.

Internet users are dissecting the smallest details of this feature film from director Emerald Fennell.

Their attention is particularly drawn to Bernard Palissy, a French artist mentioned several times in the movie. Palissy is first mentioned in Saltburn through the main protagonist, Oliver Quick (played by Barry Keoghan).

A student from a humble background at Britain’s Oxford University, Quick befriends Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi), a young aristocrat. Catton invites him to his family’s estate.

Here Quick comes across ceramics by Palissy, a 16th-century ceramist. He pretends to be familiar with his work to impress his hosts. Palissy comes up again later as part of a plot to expose the duplicity of another character.

Palissy was a self-taught Renaissance man, who was highly esteemed by the French aristocracy but persecuted for his Protestant faith. But the Saltburn viewers are interested in Palissy’s works for what they symbolise within the context of the movie.

Amelia Marran-Baden, an art influencer on TikTok, asserts that the animal-adorned tableware for which Palissy is renowned fits perfectly with the theme of nature developed throughout the film.

“The garden is a very significant motif in Saltburn, and when paired with the snake, it recalls the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve, and the snake representing menacing and deceit, just like Oliver,” she said.

Her analysis seems to have convinced TikTok users, as the video has 68 000 likes. All of which is enough to bring Palissy to the forefront.