Art Deco style
The Art Deco style was resolutely modern, through its use of materials, techniques and futurist forms.
This artistic movement was born in the aftermath of the First World War, following the impulse of artists who were reacting to the Art Nouveau style, and produced work between 1920and 1939. The name came form the International Decorative Art Exhibit of 1925, in Paris, where le Corbusier made a sensation with the “New Spirit” pavilion, as well as Ruhlmann with his “Collector” pavilion.
In the 1920’s, two tendencies became apparent in the Art deco style: The Contemporaries or neo-Traditionalists and the Moderns. The first group, who founded the movement, emerged in the 1910’s. The New Style Manifesto published in 1912 by Vera promoted a return to French tradition: Louis Sue, Andre Mare, Paul Huillard, and Andre Groult created furniture inspired by the curved shaped of the Restoration style. Paul Iribe and Maurice Dufrene however, were under the influence of the Art nouveau. After the war, the preference went to the variety of the materials used: gilded wood, shagreen, parchment, leather and lacquer, in the creation of pure shaped furniture in the continuity of the Louis XVI, Empire and Restoration styles. .
The Modern tendency, consecrated by the creation of the Modern Artist’s Union in 1929 by Robert Mallet-Stevens, emerged in the 1920’s. Among them are : Pierre Charreau, Francis Jourdain, Rene Herbst, Pierre Legrain, Jean Prouve, Charlotte Perriand, who wished to create furniture with new shaped that answered the new life conditions of the modern era and were designed as an ensemble – as interior design. Interior design elements were conceived as practical, utilitarian and ergonometric. For example, stained glass windows combined formal beauty with actual lighting capacity; furniture combined elegance with practicality; mantels were integrated into their environment and given high-performance heating systems.
Art Deco did away with wavy lines, curves and counter-curves, replacing them with straight lines and symmetry. Designs were rigorously geometrical, inspired by recent Cubism. The colours used were strong; black was present. Daring materials were used such as Plexiglas, polished or chromed steel, ivory, ebony, leather or shagreen covering. Ruhlmann created masterpieces of marquetery with newly imported woods such as ebony from Makassar.
The Art deco style, emblematic of the Roaring Twenties, stretched for elegance, sobriety, the precious, the rare and comfort and attracted a refined and wealthy clientele. The Baron Robert de Rothschild, clothes designer Jacques Doucet and Viscount Charles de Nouailles were among the patrons of this innovative movement.
photo 1: Art Deco salon furniture ensemble.
photo 2: Allegory the glory of Arts, bas-relief by Alfred-Auguste Janniot for one of the facades of the Museum of Modern Art, Paris, 1937. “Official” sculptor of the 30’s, friend of Ruhlmann, Janniot participated in the Decorative Arts Exhibit of 1925 and received many commissions: facades for the Colonies Museum, the Rockefeller Centre in New York and the war memorial in Nice.
photo 3: Interior, by J.-E. Ruhlmann.
photo 4: Room with alcove in old house, Sue and Mare.
photo 5: Salon set, with lacquered and gilded chairs and a side table made of maple and rosewood, by Ferdinand Nathan.
