Founded in 1873 by Julien Fournier in Tours (in association with Armand Clément), the Atelier Fournier became one of the most prolific provincial glass-studios of late-19th-century France. Working within the Gothic Revival tradition, the studio supplied numerous parish churches throughout the Loire Valley and beyond—windows by Fournier have been recorded in the Loir-et-Cher (Pontlevoy, Cheverny), in the Nièvre, Finistère, Landes and even into the Paris region.

The style of Fournier’s glazing can be characterised by strong delineation of figures, fairly vivid pot-metal colour fields (notably blues, reds and greens), and borders of geometric or floral motif typical of the late-Victorian revival. The studio appears to have maintained a semi-industrial scale production system—while adhering to revivalist iconography—serving the large demand for new or replacement church glazing during the post-Second Empire restoration wave.

Historical Significance
Although Atelier Fournier did not attain the national prestige of metropolitan houses (such as the famous Lobin studio of Tours or Hardman of Birmingham), it played a major role in the “regional” deployment of stained-glass art in smaller rural and parish settings. Its widespread presence in Loir-et-Cher and the Touraine indicates that it was part of the expanding market for ecclesiastical decoration in the latter half of the 19ᵗʰ century.
As one heritage publication puts it:

“De son côté, Julien Fournier poursuit sa carrière à Tours, bientôt aidé, à partir des années 1890, par son fils Lucien-Ernest, connu sous le nom Lux Fournier … Bien qu’il n’atteigne pas l’ampleur de la ‘Maison Lobin’ … l’atelier Fournier travaille dans un grand nombre de départements…” Editions Lieux Dits

The studio thus offers an illuminating example of how the Gothic-Revival stained-glass industry spread beyond the major urban workshops into the provinces, bridging the gap between ecclesiastical demand and local craft production.