A student of Daniel Pedersen at the Kalo Shop, Chicago’s preeminent producer of handwrought silver in the early 20th century, Chicago silversmith Renard Koehnemann created custom-designed chalices and patens for newly ordained priests. His religious beliefs also informed his artistic approach, especially the ideals of beauty set forth by Saint Thomas Aquinas: integrity, due proportion, and resplendent form. Each piece by Koehnemann was unique, made by hand, and designed to reflect a contemporary aesthetic. These works display his talent for achieving elegant expressions of modernity through simple forms and the use of contrasting colored materials.