Art Deco Complete: The Definitive Guide to the Decorative Arts of the 1920s and 1930s

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As Ruhlmann’s furniture works appeared to fluctuate between the Art Nouveau and Art Deco style, this left a gap in the market for a more definitive Art Deco furniture designer to arrive. This occurred in the form of Jules Leela, who was merely a traditional designer prior to the development of the Art Deco period. Leela, after finding inspiration in the new and exciting Art Deco style, went on to design the furniture featured in the grand dining room of the Elysée Palace in Paris, which was his most iconic project. Postcard of the general or principal view of the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes, Paris, 1925; Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Chrysler Building lobby on 42nd street entrance, central elevator bank with Art Deco illumination; “Axel Tschentscher”, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

This was because the Art Deco style was treated as the “Cinderella” of the art world – supposedly inadequate in comparison to the other forms of art that existed. Based on this, the purpose of the exposition was to introduce the new type of decorative art that had formed but was postponed for several reasons until 1925. As Art Deco design was influenced by industrialization and the technical advancements in society, artworks displayed approval for the modernity of the machine and the innate design qualities of machine-made objects. This led to Art Deco primarily being experimented within design, furniture, architecture, and buildings. Some of the most recognizable buildings in America today represent the Art Deco style and patterns in its architecture. After World War One, Art Deco buildings that made use of steel and reinforced concrete began to appear all over large cities in America and Europe. In America, these buildings were typically used for offices, movie theatres, railroad stations, and government buildings.Completed in less than two years, it was said that approximately four floors were built each week, which was a surprisingly rapid fast for the types of machinery that was available at the time. Art Deco-style glassware, c. 1899-1930; National Library of Norway, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

In response to this, he sent a group to France to assess the artworks at the Exposition and to bring home any ideas that could be applied in a modern American artistic and architectural sense. Logo of the Société des artistes décorateurs (SAD), designed by Gustave Miklos, 1930; Pierre gencey, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Art Deco-style Hall of the Mirrors inside the Carew Tower, Ohio; EEJCC, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

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A decorative style of bold geometric shapes and bright colours, it encompassed furniture, textiles, ceramics, sculpture and architecture. The term ‘Arts Decoratifs’ (later shortened to Art Deco in the 1960s) was coined after the Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs et Industriel Modernes (International Exhibition of Modern and Industrial Decorative Arts) held in Paris in 1925. One of the major goals of this group was to contest the hierarchical organization of the visual arts that demoted decorative artists to an inferior status when compared to the more traditional painting and sculpting forms. Art Deco architecture is therefore distinguished by hard-edged and often amply decorated designs emphasized by lustrous metal accents. Many of the buildings designed using the features of Art Deco architecture have an upright emphasis, as they were built in a way that meant to draw the eyes of those walking on the streets upwards. One of the few female artists who practiced in the Art Deco movement was the Russian-born French artist Sonia Delaunay. Co-founder of the Orphism art movement, Delaunay is said to have been included with other notable Art Deco designers who still hold a strong influence over various fashion trends today. Inspired by the Cubist and Fauvist movements, Delaunay worked closely with fellow Surrealist and Dada artists while perfecting her style. This led to her becoming the first designer to bring abstract inspiration into the realm of fashion.