The Spindler Family has been creating marquetry for over 100 years in the French countryside not far from the Bavaria border within the walls of the abbey of Saint-Leonard. Closed during the French Revolution when the abbey church was destroyed it became a sanctuary for artists during the nineteenth-century. Charles Spindler (1865-1938), started the family business in 1893 and is pictured below. He was trained as a painter and watercolor artist and attended art schools in Munich and Berlin. He is best known for his pictorial marquetry of the Alsace countryside, but is also known to have created marquetry for French Art-Nouveau furniture as well as smaller objects. At the Universal Exhibition in Paris 1900 and the 1904 World's Fair in St Louis he was artfully recognized. His work is signed using pyrography.
The family business was passed on to his son, Paul Spindler (1906-1980) who continued in his father’s footsteps. Like his father he was a great traveler and often incorporated what he had seen into his art. At the nearby abbey chapel of Mont St. Odile, he produced "The Twelve Stations of the Cross,"a collection of marquetry pictures depicting the final hours of Jesus. On some of his marquetry he used a light varnish finish. His work decorated the original Queen Mary.
Jean-Charles Spindler, Paul’s son, took over the day-to-day operation of the workshop in 1975. His marquetry has been displayed as wall panels, pictures and screens. He uses no paint or varnish to color the wood. He starts by drawing an outline of the basic pattern. After this the veneer is cut from a tree in many locations (he cuts his own veneer). Then it is treated and flattened which takes some time. Each piece is precisely cut and may include 20-30 species of wood. His creations can take up to 5 months to complete. The marquetry is then sold usually in the thousands of dollar range. A large picture measuring 33.5" wide x 44.5" high retails for $6500.
