Art Deco turns 100 ... timeless in purity and elegance
Few styles have had such impact and popularity over the past Century as Art Deco
Lalique Victoire original car radiator cover - still in production today
It was the 1925 International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts in Paris that popularised its elegant lines,s gleaming curves, and glossy stylised patterns in monochrome tones.
Historians date Art Deco’s demise to the outbreak of World War II, but as anyone up to date with contemporary interiors knows, is that it’s still widely referenced today – and is still current.
One of the centrepieces of the original 1925 Exhibition was a striking fountain designed by René Lalique, built using caryatids (sculpted female figure pillars) in moulded glass, which lit up at night. In 1925, René Lalique was at the apotheosis of his career. The 1925 International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts in Paris marked the apogee of his glassmaking career and the triumph of the art deco movement.
He decorated the interiors of ocean liners, the President of the Republic's train and buildings in New York, the dining room of fashion designer Jeanne Paquin, the Côte d'Azur Pullman Express, and the huge first-class dining room of the "Normandie", a giant of the seas fitted with luminous crystal columns and monumental chandeliers (1935). His factory produced oversized pieces - vases, lamps, glasses and crockery - characterised by the magnificent contrast between transparent and satin-finished glass.
Lalique also designed the fountain that adorned the Champs-Élysées gallery for a time, and the glass doors of Prince Yasuhiko Asaka's residence in Tokyo.
In addition to his passion for tableware, vases and statues, Lalique was also interested in making pieces for the car industry, such as the radiator cap he designed for Citroën in 1925. In the following years, he designed 27 different models for Bentley, Bugatti, Hispano-Suiza, Rolls-Royce and Voisin. The Roaring Twenties were in full swing.
The 1925 exhibition which had over 16 million visitors over seven months was split into pavilions designed by architects, each incorporating their country’s own interpretation of modern design using new materials and structural forms.
Lalique X Pierre Yves Rochon Coutard table - a contemporary take on Art Deco detailing
The Belgian pavillion was designed by the renowned art nouveau architect Victor Horta. France had multiple pavilions including a showcase for the decorator and furniture designer Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann, and consisted of a suite of luxuriously furnished rooms, titled ‘House of the Collector.
Art Deco flourished and spread across continents, disciplines and mediums, evolving as it went. In London there are surviving examples - the Hoover Building just off the A40 is most visible. Claridges, was transformed in the 1920s and 30s, with particular Art Deco influence in the foyer, the ballroom, and the Painter’s Room. And Eltham Palace in southeast London. The style was applied to ocean liners, cars, and trains, as the increasingly affordable opportunities for travel added to buoyant spirits.
There’s a lot to see this year. Brussels is hosting an Art Nouveau and Art Deco Festival in March, during which buildings usually closed will be open for the public to explore and admire. The Museum of Fine Arts in Houston is having a show devoted to Tamara de Lempicka and the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris is mounting an exhibition in the styles honour.