Art Deco – a guide to the designs and makers

A century on from the birth of art deco in Paris in 1925 Joy McCall looks back at one of the most pivotal events in design history and why for collectors the style will never go out of fashion

Art Deco Exhibition

The Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes held in Paris in 1925 had been planned to run from April to October but proved so popular it was extended until the November of that year.

It was not especially large by comparison to previous world fairs, but it followed the Turin exhibition of 1902 and was intended to focus on modern consumer goods.

The French government wanted to showcase to the world the country’s architecture, furniture and decorative arts, in part to stem what was seen as the rising threat of German design and industrial production from the end of the 19th century.

The exposition had been planned to take place earlier but was delayed because of fears of impending war. It was ultimately to be the onset of another war – WWII that curtailed the appetite for art deco.

Interest in the style revived in the late 1960s and into the 1970s as people looked back on what was seen as a golden age of luxury. This fascination sparked exhibitions and publications which stirred further awareness.

From then there has remained a steady following of collectors keen to amass art deco items and even to recreate period interiors.

French Art Deco

It is estimated 16 million visitors attended the event, which brought together the world’s most influential architects and designers who were to establish the agenda for the rest of the century.

It was here that French art deco was first recognised as a style which in turn influenced other countries to develop their own regional variants. Modernism also arguably made its first appearance with Le Corbusier’s L’Esprit Nouveau pavilion, while Scandinavian countries presented a new type of aesthetic we would now refer to as mid-century modernism or Scandinavian design.

Defining art deco

While art deco, a shortened form of the words arts décoratifs, was recognised as a style early on, the term only came into common parlance in 1968 when the academic Bevis Hillier used it in his exhibition and book.

It was an international style as opposed to a movement with no defining philosophy, or values, no hierarchy or formal structure. It was not based on a coherent framework or manifesto, but reflected the spirit of the age. As an aesthetic it incorporated all aspects of visual life. From architecture to the interior design, with all the fittings and functional items, as well as decorative arts and so-called fine arts. We see it in furniture, lighting, carpets, textiles, sculpture, glass, ceramics, metalwork, and jewellery. It can also be seen in modes of travel and advertising, especially posters.

Stylistic characteristics

Art deco was a style of geometry; clean, crisp lines and bold strident colours, as well as luxurious materials with polished, smooth, shiny and reflective surfaces.

Its streamlined forms spoke of movement, industry and progressive modernity. There was a fascination with exoticism and the celebration of life, perhaps as a reaction to the past horrors of war and the influenza pandemic that followed.

It can be seen as a development from art nouveau sharing a high regard for craftsmanship, beauty and good design. Instead of the organic forms of art nouveau, art deco had a greater symmetry in its compositions often drawing on the geometry of Cubism, the colours of Fauvism, the dynamism of Futurism, as well as contemporary life more broadly.

Art Deco glass

Many of the most sought-after and collected 20th-century designers presented work at the exposition as can be seen if we take a brief look at four different materials, namely glass, ceramics, metalwork and sculpture.

Although Emile Gallé (1846-1904) the art nouveau glass designer had died by 1925, his factory, along with that of the Daum Frères presented works in an art deco style. Gallé’s notable pieces include elephant and polar bear vases as well as mould blown designs incorporating flowers or fruit. The art deco works of Daum by contrast are characterised by thick, heavy acid-etched glass with patterns of simplified geometric designs.

René Lalique

René Lalique (1860-1940) played a leading role in the exposition having changed focus in the early 20th century from his highly successful career as a jeweller into making glass. He was president of the glass category which focused on the architectural and decorative possibilities of the medium. Besides this, he had his own pavilion, oversaw the creation of the dining room of the Sèvres pavilion, created the centrepiece Fontaine des Sources de France on the site, and was heavily involved with designing the perfume pavilion.

His objective was to create high-quality mass-produced glassware without sacrificing standards of design. What he created was a vast range of object types, from scent bottles to car mascots, which still hold sway with contemporary collectors.

There is also a connoisseur market for his unique cire perdue works made using the ‘lost wax’ technique, being cast like bronze sculptures.

The pâte de verre designers Gabriel Argy-Rousseau (1885-1953) and François-Emile Decorchement (1880- 1971) also took centre stage. Argy-Rousseau who was at the peak of his career was invited to be one of the judges. Pâte de verre mixed powdered glass and metal oxide with more recent innovations enabling designers to create large objects which enjoy an enthusiastic collector base.

Marvellous metalwork

In the field of metalwork the French designer and ironworker Edgar Brandt (1880-1960) enjoyed great prominence alongside Jean Dunand (1877–1942) and Christofle, the makers of luxury plated silver wares which had its own pavilion.

Brandt was acclaimed for his wrought iron work that combined traditional craftsmanship with modern techniques allowing for greater output and more elaborate designs. His work ranges from small domestic items, such as bookends and ashtrays, to hanging lights and screens, as well as large architectural scale designs.

Consequently, collectors can appreciate his work at a wide range of price points from hundreds of pounds through to more than a million. One of his most icon designs is La Tentation a lamp in the form of a serpent incorporating a Daum glass shade.

The same can be said for Dunand’s work in terms of breadth of price points. He is best known for his lacquer work, an art form he had learnt from Seizo Sugawara, a Japanese lacquer artist. Like Brandt he also produced screens, Dunand typically executed these in black and red, enlivened with gilt and white.

Christofle produced silver plated wares for functional use, as well as decorative piece vases which are very collectable. Like Dunand these often explore the graphic possibilities of contrasting metallic patinas designed by Luc Lanel which display particularly well in groupings.

Stunning sculptures

While large sculptural forms were presented at the exposition, one of the distinguishing characteristics of the art deco pieces on show were their smaller scale. Owning sculpture was no longer the exclusive domain of the elite, whose financial and spatial resources enabled them to display large pieces in appropriate settings.

The rising middle class appreciated works executed on a domestic scale, conceived for a mass market and reproduced according to demand. As a result, the collecting of sculpture began and still continues. In the past, discussions of art deco sculpture would inevitably have involved the mention of bronze and ivory figures, by the likes of Demetre Chiparus and Ferdinand Preiss.

However, the market has changed with ivory restrictions coming into place and the focus for collectors is now on materials such as bronze, spelter, ceramics and glass.

Human forms

Much art deco sculpture took the human form as its subject, or the animal kingdom, and in this regard is in keeping with classical traditions. In both cases they are frequently depicted in a frozen state of motion.

The surfaces are smooth and sleek, with contour lines playing a key role. This can be seen in the works of Josef Lorenzl (1892-1950) with his popular dancing figures, or in panthers by sculptors such as the Russian maker Georges Lavroff (1895-1991), the French sculptors Maurice Prost (1894-1967) and Emile-Louis Bracquemond (1889-1970), and the Belgian Michel Decoux (1837-1924). It is interesting to note that the same subject was repeatedly addressed by different people.

Inspiration came from other cultures and contemporary life as can be seen in Claire-Jeanne-Roberte Colinet’s (1885–1972) Dancer of Carthage inspired by 19th-century excavations of the ancient ruins in the Gulf of Tunis.

Chiparus’ dancing figures were likewise inspired by Sergei Diaghilev’s influential Ballet Russes, with its impressive costumes, that was incredibly popular in Paris between 1909 and 1929.

British Art Deco Ceramics

It is not surprising the French ceramics firm Sèvres was given great prominence in the exposition and, again, its work remains sought after by collectors. Perhaps what is more remarkable  and less acknowledged is just how many British potteries were shown in the British section.

There was a display from Wedgwood that included Daisy-Makeig Jones’ Fairyland lustre wares, lustre ware from Pilkington Royal Lancastrian, high-fired pieces of Ruskin Pottery, as well as ranges from the Doulton and Poole potteries.

All of these names still command attention from buyers of antiques and most of them have collectors’ clubs too.

Joy McCall is a senior specialist in design from 1860 to the present day at the auction house Lyon & Turnbull which recently held the sale 1925 – Celebrating Art Deco at its London saleroom