Furniture - World Styles From Classical To Contemporary

["Victor Horta staircase. The sinuous contours of Horta\u2019s wrought-iron staircase complement the dramatic wall decorations and mosaic floor in the entrance of the Hotel Tassel in Brussels, an outstanding example of Art Nouveau architecture. Horta designed the house and its interiors for Tassel, a professor at Brussels University and a connoisseur of Japanese art. 1893\u201395. Louis Majorelle lady's desk Made from mahogany and oak in Nancy, France, this lady\u2019s desk is typical of Art Nouveau, with its kidney-shaped writing plate and top with graceful, curving, wing- shaped ends. It is decorated with floral marquetry of different tropical woods. c.1905. H:44in (110cm). QU Wilbur and Orville Wright\u2019s plane the first manned airplane flight. 1909 Futurism is launched by the Italian 1915 Albert Einstein publishes his General 1902 Turin hosts the Prima Exposizione 1903-11 The Municipal House, an iconic artist, Filippo Marinetti. Theory of Relativity. d\u2019Arte Decorativa Moderna. Art Nouveau building is built in Prague by 1911 The first nonstop flight The Titanic Osvald Pol\u00edvka and Anton\u00edn Bals\u00e1nek. 1903 Wilbur and Orville Wright complete from London to Paris. 1905 Work begins on Josef Hoffmann\u2019s 1912 The Titanic sinks on its Palais Stoclet in Brussels. The Simplon tunnel in Switzerland is completed. maiden voyage. 1907 A landmark exhibition of Cubist 1913 The Rite of Spring by Igor paintings by Pablo Picasso and Georges Stravinsky debuts. Braque opens in Paris. Josef Hoffmann designs the Fledermaus cabaret in Vienna. 1914 World War I begins. Charlie Chaplin makes his first silent movie.","350 ART NOUVEAU ART NOUVEAU FURNITURE 1880\u20131915 A TRULY EUROPEAN STYLE, there is no single artist DIFFERENT INTERPRETATIONS or designer whose work embodies Art Nouveau. The The most striking feature of Art Nouveau style was Curving bentwood chaise longue This piece was made by German style itself was known by a variety of names across its diversity. Each country had its own interpretation designer Michael Thonet. It is made from beechwood that has been Europe \u2013 Le Style Moderne in France, Jugendstil in of the new style. In France and Belgium, designers steamed and bent into shape, which is a hallmark of Thonet\u2019s Germany, Secession in Austria, La Stile Liberty in Italy, created sinuous, fluid shapes based on flowers, foliage, pioneering furniture. The seat and back are made of cane work. and Modernista in Spain \u2013 and the style embraced all and marine life, and it is this interpretation that is c.1890. W:146cm (571\u20442in). DRA of the decorative arts in equal measure. generally thought of today as Art Nouveau. of the natural world. The sensuous female form, A COHESIVE STYLE In Britain, Germany, and Austria, more linear so beloved of the poetic Symbolist movement, was Art Nouveau was a movement born of the desire of designs used geometric shapes. Designers also another popular motif. Designers also looked east for a number of brilliant artists and designers to make experimented with materials such as bentwood and inspiration to Japan. Simple, elegant designs inspired something beautiful, functional, and above all, new. aluminium. In Spain, Antoni Gaudi worked with by nature were enthusiastically adopted by many Art dazzling vitality, using organic shapes and an Nouveau designers, and motifs including cherry Interiors in the 19th century were often made up of extravagant use of plant-inspired motifs. Much of his blossom, waterlilies, and dragonflies were often used. various styles and historical revivals, sometimes in furniture was made for his extraordinary, sculptural the same room. Art Nouveau was a reaction against buildings such as Guel Palace in Barcelona. THE END OF AN ERA this confusion, and a rejection of the mass-produced The individuality of Art Nouveau was ultimately its furniture born of industrialisation. Taking the lead NEW INSPIRATIONS undoing. It was a movement that burned brightly, from William Morris (see pp.332\u201333), architects, artists, Art Nouveau designers didn\u2019t entirely reject the styles fuelled by the creativity of a few brilliant designers and designers placed more emphasis on craftsmanship of the past. French designers in particular were creating their own artistic expressions. Such intensity and artistic inspiration. Rooms were designed to work heavily influenced by the asymmetry and fine could not be sustained, and after 15 years Art as a whole, from the architecture to the furniture, craftsmanship of the the Rococo style (see pp.68\u2013121). Nouveau floundered as innovation turned to clich\u00e9 and even the smallest decorative details. Many designers drew on the decorative vocabulary and the onset of World War I killed the creative and decadent spirit that gave birth to the movement. Scottish School cabinet This cabinet, in the style of Alexander Ritchie, was made on the Island of lona. The simple wooden case is decorated with brass repouss\u00e9 panels depicting stylized birds holding brambles. The hinges and escutcheon feature entwined foliage. H:45.5cm (18in); D:25cm (10in). L&T GILT-BRONZE MOUNTS Lily-pad feet Lily buds Art Nouveau furniture designers often looked for Louis Majorelle mahogany cabinet This cabinet has finely carved gilt-bronze inspiration to the reign of Louis XV (see pp.78\u201379) decorative mounts at the top, sides, and on the feet modelled as delicate and the work of the celebrated \u00e9b\u00e9nistes working waterlily stems, buds, flowers, and leaves. The embellishments are in the Rococo style. The mid-18th century fashion reminiscent of Rococo gilt decorations. H:200cm (79in). CSB for furniture rendered in luxurious timbers and decorated with finely-crafted mounts of gilt bronze was embraced by cabinet-makers including Louis Majorelle. Majorelle embellished the legs, feet, handles, and keyholes of tables and case furniture with nature-inspired motifs, from flower blossoms and waterlilies to leaves and berries.","ART NOUVEAU FURNITURE 351 1880\u20131915 The gallery is VITRINE BY EMILE GALL\u00c9 pierced with a foliate motif. This vitrine is a stunning example of the marquetry decoration favoured by Emile Gall\u00e9 The asymmetrical of the \u00c9cole de Nancy (see pp.356\u201357) and his arrangement of contemporaries. Made of walnut, the piece is shelves is supported lavishly veneered with marquetry comprised of on stylized branch bird\u2019s eye maple and other exotic woods in an elements. asymmetrical pattern of leaves and foliage. The Art Nouveau taste for organic, nature-inspired motifs is also epitomized by the Japanese-style cherry flowers carved in relief on the cresting and apron, and the delicate leaf-shaped mounts in gilt bronze decorating the slender legs of the vitrine. Motifs drawn from nature, including scrolling plants and flower blossoms, such as water lilies, fruits and vegetables, and insects, were captured in breathtaking detail. The pierced gallery and apron detailing are asymmetrical \u2013 a feature popular on 18th-century Rococo furniture. The unusual arrangement of the interior shelves also takes up the asymmetrical theme. The back of the vitrine is lavishly decorated with a marquetry pattern of leaves rendered in bird\u2019s- eye maple and other exotic woods. Organic designs Gall\u00e9\u2019s marquetry is of feature on Gall\u00e9\u2019s the highest quality and furniture, such echoes the finest work as these carved of the 18th-century cherry flowers. French \u00e9b\u00e9nistes. The legs of the vitrine are embellished with leaf-shaped mounts of gilt-bronze. Emile Gall\u00e9 walnut vitrine This fine vitrine has carved and pierced cresting and an apron of Japanese cherry flowers. The glazed single door and sides enclose an asymmetrically- stepped, two-tier interior, and bird's-eye maple and exotic wood leaf marquetry. c.1900. H:148cm (591\u20444in); W:64.5cm (253\u20444in); D:46cm (181\u20442in). MACK","1880\u20131915352 ART NOUVEAU ELEMENTS OF STYLE Art Nouveau designers sought inspiration from the natural world. From Nancy to Glasgow, nature was interpreted in a host of different and distinctive ways. Sensuous, flamboyant designs with scrolling shapes and whiplash curves were popular, as were more abstract shapes and motifs. Across the genre, embellishments based on natural motifs \u2013 foliage, flowers, and insects \u2013 were rendered in an array of rich materials: expensive timbers such as walnut, rosewood, and mahogany for relief carving; exotic woods, ivory, and precious metals for marquetry and inlays; and mounts of gilt bronze for decoration. Rear of an inlaid cabinet Detail of a fireplace Louis XV influences Female figures A number of designers took inspiration The motif that remains most closely from the Rococo style, which flourished associated with Art Nouveau is that in 18th-century France under Louis of the beautiful maiden with long, XV (see pp.78\u201379). Art Nouveau flowing hair. This cast-iron design designers reinterpreted its asymmetry, is typical of the Glasgow School and swirling, curving lines, and stylized Margaret MacDonald Mackintosh style plant and floral decorations. This (see pp.366\u201367). The maiden\u2019s head cabinet epitomizes the style, with is cast in high relief, has flowing hair, its sinuous shapes, exotic inlay, and stylized floral details, and is part of bronze mounts. a geometrically balanced design. Walnut selette stand Cupboard door detail Duck head arm support Hand-carved wood Fittings and detailing Stylized nature A desire to reintroduce traditional This detail of a Patriz Huber lemon- In France, the two main centres of Art skills to furniture-making was mahogany, polished cupboard has Nouveau furniture production \u2013 the central to Art Nouveau. Many characteristic Art Nouveau fittings Nancy and Paris Schools \u2013 pioneered and detailing. The understated copper the fashion for curvilinear furniture designers shunned machine key fitting is gently curved with simple, designs that looked to nature for processes in favour of traditional embossed foliate detailing. The inspiration. This stylized duck head hand-carving. Elegant shapes cupboard is partly carved with gently is a good example of how natural curving lines and also decorated with motifs were cleverly incorporated emerged, made from woods geometric flower-bud and foliate motifs. into furniture design. such as walnut and embellished with natural motifs.","ELEMENTS OF STYLE 353 1880\u20131915 Marquetry on an oak cabinet Carved walnut bed-end Detail of a chair back Carved detail of a cupboard Art Nouveau marquetry Relief carving Sinuous lines Abstract motifs Although marquetry was widely used, This type of carved decoration rises The curved splats on the back of this The Art Nouveau credo that designs varied tremendously. This above the surface background. This chair and the curving arms on the architecture, decoration, and furniture rose-tree example is closely associated detail of a carved walnut bed-end, unusual, cantilevered supports are should be united into a cohesive whole with Charles Rennie Mackintosh and designed by Louis Majorelle (see typical of the Paris School, which inspired some designers to develop the Glasgow style (see pp.364\u201367). p.357), shows an intricately carved favoured distinctive, curved, and a spare, linear style that moved away The design is both stylized and daffodil motif flanked by graceful, sculptural chair backs and minimal from the sensuous interpretation of symmetrical, combining long, straight gently curving fielded panels. It is applied decorations. This style of nature towards simple, elegant shapes lines with gentle curves. It is more typical of the French style of Art curved wood is carved from a single and geometric patterns. This carved minimal and restrained than the Nouveau, which often applied piece, as opposed to using the detail is curved but simple in design French marquetry style. organic motifs to furniture. bentwood technique (see p.375). and moving towards abstraction. Detail of a two-tier table Detail of an inlaid sideboard Repouss\u00e9 clockface Floral and foliate gilt mount Whiplash curves Exotic materials Repouss\u00e9 metalwork Gilt-bronze mounts The scrolling design of the supports This roundel is a tour de force This technique was common in Arts Many French furniture-makers, of this two-tiered, rosewood table by of embossed and inlaid metalware and Crafts and Art Nouveau. Relief designed finely wrought, decorative Emile Gall\u00e9 is typical of the whiplash by Italian designer, Carlo Bugatti decoration was produced by hammering mounts of gilt-bronze or wrought curves favoured by French and Belgian (see p.362). Influenced by Japanese, from the underside, causing the iron. This decorative detail echoes designers, and is exemplified in the Moorish, and Egyptian design, the decoration to project outwards. the Rococo preference for warm, architecture of Victor Horta (see p.360). banding in embossed brass encloses a This design is influenced by natural lustrous woods enhanced by nature- Inspired by nature, the sinuous curves geometric pattern resembling winged motifs, Liberty\u2019s Celtic revival, and inspired mounts in gilt-bronze. are, in fact, stylized renditions of insects in a pale wood, ebony, silver, Charles Rennie Mackintosh\u2019s heraldic Popular natural motifs were flower- plant tendrils. ivory, and brass inlay. designs (see p.364). buds, waterlilies, and orchids.","354 ART NOUVEAU 198480\u2013191750 PARIS EXPOSITION The lavish international exhibitions were important promotional vehicles for the art nouveau movement. INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITIONS, known as Expositions THE EXPOSITION UNIVERSELLE Universelles, World Fairs, or Great Exhibitions, were lavish This view looks across the River Seine forums that sought to present, in specially constructed towards the Eiffel Tower and the Globe pavilions, the diversity of human civilization. Following C\u00e9leste. The Eiffel Tower was designed the first major exhibition in 1851 at Crystal Palace in London (see pp.268\u201369), these events were acknowledged in 1889 by the structural engineer as important tools for showcasing cultures and ideas. Alexandre Gustave Eiffel, and was the International exhibitions helped to influence the winning proposal in a building design development of Art Nouveau, for in addition to having competition to commemorate the French their work presented on the international stage, designers Revolution\u2019s 100th anniversary. Eiffel\u2019s were affected by what they saw at the exhibitions, radical creation was the central focus including art from around the world. of the Paris Exhibition site in both The vast repertoire of ideas and designs displayed at 1889 and 1900. exhibitions from around 1889 culminated in the year 1900, when Art Nouveau reached its pinnacle and enjoyed its greatest success at the Exposition Universelle in Paris. Carved crest MAHOGANY-FRAME ARMCHAIR This rare chair by Edouard Colonna has a scroll- carved, crested, padded back above moulded arms with knuckle-scroll terminals, cabriole legs, and a low, upholstered back. The chair was part of a suite, including a settee and side chair, exhibited at the Siegfried Bing stand at the 1900 Paris Exposition Universelle. c.1900. MACK SILVER-PLATED WALL MIRROR This mirror by Georges De Feure was exhibited at the 1900 Paris Exposition. The relief-moulded scene depicts a woman in profile wearing a long, flowing dress, in an elaborately stylized landscape setting within a moulded oak frame. 1900. H:36cm (141\u20444in); W:45cm (173\u20444in). MACK Knuckle-scroll terminals Cabriole legs","SIEGFRIED BING PARIS EXPOSITION 355 1880\u20131915 PERSONIFYING THE ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT OF ART NOUVEAU, SIEGFRIED BING, AND HIS SHOP, FRENCH INFLUENCE L\u2019ART NOUVEAU, PLAYED A PIVOTAL ROLE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE STYLE. It was the French who held sway, as neither the Belgian Henry van de Velde (see p.360), nor the Scottish Born in Hamburg in 1838, the art designs created by Eug\u00e8ne Gaillard, contingent led by Charles Rennie Mackintosh (see pp.364\u201367), were represented, and the Germans gave collector and dealer Siegfried Bing Edouard Colonna, and Georges De a weak showing. Art Nouveau was generally seen as a French movement, an expression of French moved to Paris in 1871. Following Feure. However, Bing personally refinement and extravagance. travels to the Far East a few years later, selected the designs that were made While the Exhibition was largely monopolized by neo-Rococo, neo-Baroque, and exotic styles, there he opened a shop called La Porte into finished pieces. was nonetheless a celebrated array of Art Nouveau buildings, including the Pavillon Bleu Restaurant Chinoise specializing in the sale of La Maison de L\u2019Art Nouveau had a by Gustave Serrurier-Bovy, the Loie Fuller Pavilion by Henri Sauvage, and the Pavillon Bing. Hector Oriental objects. After a visit to the brief life, remaining open for a mere Guimard\u2019s spectacular station entrances greeted visitors who arrived at the site on the new United States to report on architecture nine years before finally closing in Metropolitan railway. Imaginative international displays, such as the Finnish Pavilion, showed that and design for the French government, 1904, but Bing\u2019s imaginative displays, other countries were accomplished promoters of their versions of the Art Nouveau. The Union Centrale des Bing opened the doors of his new Paris in both his shop and at international Arts D\u00e9coratifs, the Pavillon Bing, and the spaces dedicated to the department stores Le Louvre, Le Bon emporium in December 1895. Named exhibitions, became renowned among March\u00e9, and Le Printemps, were all private initiatives at the Exposition. Along the Esplanade des Invalides, L\u2019Art Nouveau, it sold the works of artists, designers, and manufacturers, the Decorative Arts Pavilions exhibited hundreds of different interpretations of Art Nouveau. leading Art Nouveau craftsmen, Siegfried Bing and also achieved notoriety with INTERIOR STYLE including Emile Gall\u00e9, Henry van de Velde, and politicians, collectors, and museums. At Siegfried Bing\u2019s Pavilion at the 1900 Exposition, Art Nouveau enjoyed its greatest success. Bing\u2019s Louis Comfort Tiffany. Bing dealt in modern works of art, but he promoted exhibits demonstrated how great his influence on interior design had become. It was in France that Art Nouveau became most the idea of amalgamating all aspects of the arts. At Immediately apparent in the six rooms of Bing\u2019s firmly established. Paris was highly influential and L\u2019Art Nouveau, he sold a wide range of goods, from Pavilion was the sense of a consistent, unified look. Instead of an eclectic collection of furniture, textiles, Bing\u2019s shop became the focus of attraction. The textiles and ceramics to glass and silverware \u2013 all and ornaments inspired by a host of different inaugural exhibition at the gallery and shop caused showcasing the best that the new style had to offer. historic styles, as preferred in the Victorian era, these rooms promoted a single, cohesive a sensation \u2013 not all of it favourable \u2013 but the success The international style of Art Nouveau thus amounted design theme that was reflected in wall colours, floor surfaces, furniture, and fittings of the venture was ensured. L\u2019Art Nouveau eventually to more than simple a group of enthusiastic artists in equal measure. Georges De Feure designed the dressing room and boudoir, Edouard expanded to include workshops and studios. The and designers creating works of art in a single, Colonna the drawing room, and the vestibule, bedroom, and dining room were created by master cabinet-maker was L\u00e9on Jallot, who worked identifiable idiom. Eug\u00e8ne Gaillard. Although Bing\u2019s Pavilion was scarcely mentioned in the Parisian papers, it The Siegfried Bing Pavilion at the Paris Exposition In an attempt to became a benchmark against which designers create a Gesamtkunstwerk (a complete artwork), Bing enlisted three and collectors outside France judged the unified promising, although relatively unknown, designers to collaborate on approach to interior design. the design: Georges De Feure, Edouard Colonna, and Eug\u00e8ne Gaillard. On the heels of the Exposition Universelle The dining room was designed by Gaillard. in Paris came the 1902 Prima Exposizione d\u2019Arte Decorativa Moderna held in Turin, which saw Art Walnut dining chair Designed by Gaillard, this chair was exhibited at Nouveau at its final peak of international influence. the Siegfried Bing Pavilion at the 1900 Paris Exposition. The original By the end of the decade Art Nouveau was no leather seat and back of this dining chair are decorated with sinuous longer an exhibition sensation. Its role as a modern forms, an example of his success in flat pattern design. Gaillard\u2019s global style had diminished considerably, and its design is inspired by nature, and, like the branches of a tree, the commercial viability had been lost. However, the carved walnut frame appears to grow. The sculptural form of this chair Exposition Universelle brought a new era of art was an excitingly novel design at the exhibition. 1899\u20131900. and design to the world, and for the 51 million H:94cm (37in); W:47.5cm (183\u20444in). people who passed through its doors, it must have been a truly remarkable experience.","356 ART NOUVEAU 1880\u20131915 france: the nancy school MANY OF THE FINEST WORKS of French who gathered around the brilliant Gall\u00e9 was to furnish him with creative including rosewood, maple, walnut, Art Nouveau were created at the at the \u00c9cole de Nancy, and the school inspiration for shapes as well as or fruitwoods such as apple or pear. Alliance Provincale des Industries d\u2019Art, gave a coherent identity to the diverse decoration. His romantic vision of The pieces stood on carved supports or \u00c9cole de Nancy, in the province of craftsmen working there. nature, a delight in plants, animals, in the shape of dragonfly wings, or Lorraine. It was founded in 1901 by the and other living creatures, and a boasted cornices featuring carved innovative furniture and glass designer Among those who ran the Nancy passionate faith in the mystery of creatures such as snails, moths, and Emile Gall\u00e9, and was based on the school with Gall\u00e9 were some of the creation lay at the heart of his most bats. Decorative bronze mounts example set by the English Arts and finest craftsmen and designers of the inspired designs. resembled insects, and fruitwood Crafts guilds. A design school and day, including Louis Majorelle, Eug\u00e8ne inlays in extravagant compositions workshop that was profoundly Vallin, Victor Prouv\u00e9, and the Daum FURNITURE STYLES depicted natural motifs, including influenced by the Symbolist movement brothers, Auguste and Antonin. Gall\u00e9\u2019s emotional connection with flower blossoms, leaves, fruit, ears in art and literature, the goal of the the vitality of nature and his love of corn, snails, and butterflies. enterprise was to modernize technical BOTANICAL INSPIRATION of symbolism resulted in highly training in both the decorative and In addition to history of art and original, imaginative furniture that applied arts. Symbolist poetry and literature, Gall\u00e9\u2019s seemed to breathe with life. rich influences included the study of The natural world inspired and local flora and fauna \u2013 cow parsley, Tables and cabinets were made informed the artists and craftsmen thistles, insects, and so on \u2013 which from richly coloured or exotic woods, ARMCHAIRS These mahogany chairs by Louis Majorelle have rectangular padded splats, stuff-over arms on unusual, sweeping, reverse-curved supports, and stuff-over seats on moulded legs. This is a graceful variation on the traditional chair style with gently curving lines. c.1900. H:103cm (401\u20442in). MACK ROSEWOOD AND WALNUT VITRINE TABLE LAMPS This rosewood and walnut vitrine by Emile Gall\u00e9 is inspired by This is an unusual pair of glass and bronze organic motifs. The upper section has glazed doors with carved lamps made in Nancy by Daum Fr\u00e8res and foliage surrounds extending to a central support to form a heart Louis Majorelle. The tapering, gilded, bronze motif. The back is decorated with fruitwood leaf-form marquetry. shaft has a flower motif in high relief and three c.1900. H:158cm (62in); W:80cm (311\u20442in); D:49cm (19in). MACK raised supports for the domed, mushroom- shaped shades. The lamp shades are made of clear flashed glass with powder inclusions in rose, greenish-yellow, and dark violet. They are signed \u201cDaum Nancy\u201d and have a Cross of Lorraine on the rim of the shade. c.1904. H:63cm (251\u20444in). VZ","FRANCE: THE NANCY SCHOOL 357 Many of Gall\u00e9\u2019s pieces were unique, Nouveau furniture. Although his desks, of dark hardwoods such as mahogany 1880\u20131915 and were signed and frequently tables, chairs, and bedroom suites lack and rosewood, with fluid outlines and engraved with verses by Victor Hugo, the symbolic poetry found in the works massive, sculptural gilt-bronze mounts Paul Verlaine, or Charles Baudelaire. of Gall\u00e9, his finely crafted furniture is shaped as orchids or water lilies, beautiful in its own right. alongside delicately carved, inlaid, or LOUIS MAJORELLE marquetry decoration in fruitwoods, The other great furniture designer Majorelle established several pewter, or mother-of-pearl. He also working at Nancy \u2013 Louis Majorelle \u2013 workshops so that he could increase collaborated with the Daum brothers, turned his back on the Louis XV taste, his output. He was a trained cabinet- who were famous for their glassware, which had been the staple of many maker, and although much of his to produce a wide variety of decorative established workshops, and created furniture incorporated some machine- lamps with glass shades and elegant some of the finest pieces of Art made parts, the quality was superb. bronze or iron mounts. Majorelle\u2019s furniture was usually made Giltwood Aub\u00e9pine table by Louis Majorelle This occasional table has a circular marble top above a moulded gilt frieze. The tapering moulded legs are decorated with foliate carving. c.1900. H:81cm (32in). L&T The marquetry is made of exotic hardwoods. NEST OF TABLES ARMCHAIRS The mirrored back is decorated with inlaid These Emile Gall\u00e9 tables Aux Magnolias are This pair of Marrons d\u2019Inde armchairs by Louis geometric patterns. made of fruit- and rootwoods and decorated Majorelle have splats with exotic wood marquetry, with magnolia and butterfly design inlays, and bent and curved arms, tapering legs, and stuff- Pierced side panels carved branch patterns on the legs of the over upholstered seats. 1905\u201310. H:105cm are decorated largest tables. c.1900. H:71cm (281\u20442in). GK (411\u20442in); W:55cm (22in). QU with repeated scrolling motifs. Bronze drawer pulls are in the shape of goose heads. The goose motif is continued on the front doors. DISPLAY CASE TWO-TIER TABLE GOOSE DESIGN CABINET pulls, and cupboards inlaid with exotic wood showing a gaggle of geese. A superb designer Made from mahogany and makasar, this display This rosewood occasional table by Emile Gall\u00e9 This sumptuous, blonde mahogany, goose- and highly skilled technician, Majorelle created case by Louis Majorelle rests on curved diagonal has three out-splayed supports and scroll legs design cabinet by Louis Majorelle is decorated flamboyantly luxurious pieces of unrivalled legs. The doors have distinctive blossom with carved hoof feet. The table is decorated with marquetry, pierced wood, and exotic quality. c.1900. H:246.5cm (97in); W:155cm ornaments. c.1920. H:125cm (50in); with floral marquetry. c.1900. H:77cm (30in); timbers. The piece has pierced side panels, (61in). CALD W:83.75cm (331\u20442in); D:45cm (18in). QU W:53cm (21in). MACK a frieze drawer with bronze goose-head drawer","358 ART NOUVEAU 1880\u20131915 france: the Paris school THE DEVELOPMENT OF the Parisian One of a talented group of cabinet- The top rail carving is The leather upholstery thread of French Art Nouveau is makers, Guimard \u2013 who was a disciple inspired by asymmetric is embossed with a distinguished by a group of forward- of Victor Horta in Belgium and is Louis XV furniture designs. floral pattern. looking individuals who formed best remembered for his Paris Metro artistic groups to experiment with entrances \u2013 was one of the most Brass studs fix the leather new forms, and who were supported innovative and progressive. His bold upholstery to the frame. by a circle of entrepreneurs. The most and energetic three-dimensional important patron was the influential furniture designs were imaginative, The carved legs terminate in dealer, Siegfried Bing (see p.355). An sculptural evocations of the natural flared, square-section feet. enthusiastic collector with a special world. At first these were made in interest in Oriental art, Bing played a solid mahogany, but later he used WALNUT-FRAMED CHAIR crucial role in Le Japon Artistique, a a soft pearwood that was easier publication that was instrumental in to model. This carved walnut chair was designed by Eug\u00e8ne Gaillard. The chair has a popularizing Far Eastern Art in 19th- distinctive pierced, asymmetric floral and foliate carved frame decorated with century Europe, before he moved DECORATIVE INSPIRATION sinuous curves and plant tendril carving on the back. The chair seat and back on to promote Art Nouveau. Although the decoration favoured are upholstered with the original floral embossed brown leather, which is fixed in by the Paris School took its place with brass studs. The chair stands on flared feet. This style was influenced AN ENTERPRISING ENDEAVOUR inspiration from nature, it was by leading Paris School artist-craftsmen such as Hector Guimard. c.1905. Key to the success of the \u201cnew art\u201d in stylized. Other furniture designers H:107.5cm (42in). MACK Paris was Bing\u2019s transformation of his who were part of Siegfried Bing\u2019s antiques shop in Paris into the gallery influential gallery and retail shop, L\u2019Art Nouveau in 1895. He dedicated and who formed the core of the this to exhibiting a host of decorative Paris School of Art Nouveau, objects, which embodied the new included Eug\u00e8ne Gaillard, the directions in art while also being Dutchman Georges De Feure, and inspired by French tradition. He German-born Edouard Colonna. assembled a group of innovative artists \u2013 not only from France but also Henry ROCOCO INFLUENCE van de Velde of Belgium and the Gaillard\u2019s robust, dynamic furniture American, Louis Comfort Tiffany \u2013 looked back to the 18th-century and showcased their latest works. Bing Rococo style of Louis XV for succeeded in bringing Art Nouveau to inspiration, and included pieces such a wealthy, fashion-conscious clientele as the magnificent display cupboard and was joined in this endeavour by in walnut that was shown at the the German art critic, Julius Meier- 1900 International Exhibition Graefe who established La Maison in Paris (see pp.354\u201355), as Moderne in 1898. His aim was to offer well as light and airy tables more affordable decorative wares in and chairs with sinuous the Art Nouveau style, made using decoration in aquatic industrial methods. plant patterns. THE PARIS AND NANCY STYLES The slender and Although both the Paris and Nancy refined gilded wood Schools pioneered the new, curvilinear, furniture created by De organic furniture style, the leading Feure was delicately designers of both schools \u2013 Hector carved with plant Guimard in Paris and Louis Majorelle motifs and combined and Emille Gall\u00e9 in Nancy \u2013 each with silk fabrics. His drew inspiration from nature in a very sophisticated designs different way. At the \u00c9cole de Nancy, drew inspiration from the style was much more exuberant the 18th-century French and florid: the finely crafted pieces tradition of furniture- had sculptural shapes and were richly making, especially the veneered in exotic woods, with mother- Louis XVI style. of-peal inlays, marquetry, and gilt- bronze mounts. Colonna\u2019s furniture was a quieter version of The Parisian strand of Art Nouveau Art Nouveau. Its simple was lighter and more restrained, and forms and scrolling, owed much to the work of the architect decorative patterns were and furniture designer, Hector Guimard. carved with a light and delicate hand.","FRANCE: PARIS SCHOOL 359 1880\u20131915 OAK SERVER DESK CHAIR MAHOGANY SIDE TABLE A more restrained Art Nouveau style is shown This Tony Selmersheim desk chair is made Designed by Camille Gauthier and Paul in this oak and purple-heart server designed from padouk, a type of rosewood. The chair Poinsignon, this table has a concave-shaped by L\u00e9on Jallot. The piece has an arched, has a wavy top rail above a cartouche-shaped rectangular top with delicate, floral-motif raised back with pierced, stylized leaf motifs padded back with inscrolled arms and a fruitwood marquetry. It sits above an arched above two frieze drawers and open shelves. padded seat. The piece stands on gently frieze with daffodil-design marquetry, on spiral- c.1910. H:125cm (491\u20444in); W:122.5cm splayed tapering legs. c.1902. H:76cm carved, tapering legs. c.1900. H:74cm (29in); (481\u20444in). CAL (30in); W:58.5cm (23in). CAL W:81cm (32in); D:60.5cm (24in). MACK links with architecture LIBRARY SELETTE ARCHITECTURE PLAYED A KEY ROLE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE This mahogany selette by Tony Selmersheim PARIS SCHOOL, ESPECIALLY THE DESIGNS OF HECTOR GUIMARD. has a square top and moulded edge, with a bookshelf compartment above an off-set In the 1890s, public and private interiors 16 rue de la Fontaine. Both the exterior square-shaped lower tier. The piece stands in France underwent a period of radical and interior of the flats boast bold, on out-splayed moulded legs united by a change, reflecting a burgeoning interest abstract ornament. He used variegated cross-stretcher. c.1910. H:135cm (53in); in modern materials, nature-inspired colour on the fa\u00e7ade, and built an W:90cm (35in). MACK decorative motifs, and imaginative forms interior courtyard to allow more light of Art Nouveau. One of the most original into the apartments. French Art Nouveau architects, Hector Guimard, was celebrated for his sinuous, Guimard understood the need to decorative, wrought-iron entrances for create brightly coloured living spaces the Metro stations in Paris. that were open and full of light. With the Castel B\u00e9ranger, he demonstrated Guimard made his mark as an architect how the decorative arts, in a wide range with a distinctive block of flats he built of materials, could successfully work in Paris from 1894 to 1998, which was together with architecture to create a known as Le Castel B\u00e9ranger, located at unified, modern scheme. WALNUT SELETTE Entrance to Boissi\u00e8re Metro station This is one of Le Castel B\u00e9ranger flats in Paris Designed by GLASS-FRONTED CABINET the curvaceous cast-iron Paris Metro entrances Hector Guimard, both the exterior and interior of This two-tier walnut selette stand was designed designed by Hector Guimard. 1899\u20131904. the flats feature his fanciful designs. 1894\u201398. This cabinet is made of lemonwood and by Edouard Diot. Beneath a flat top, distinctive, satinwood and carved with foliate motifs. delicately curved supports decorated with carved, The stained glass cabinet doors contain twisting floral motifs extend from the upper simple, swirling foliate designs in coloured tier via open supports. The piece rests on out- glass. The piece was designed by Edouard splayed carved feet. 1902. H:136cm Colonna for Siegfried Bing. 1900. (531\u20442in). CAL H:211cm (83in); W:145cm (57in). CAL","360 ART NOUVEAU 1880\u20131915 Belgium IN LATE 19TH-CENTURY Europe, Art throughout Europe, van de Velde was COIFFEUSE two pairs of drawers above and two drawers Nouveau reached its creative peak in influenced by the writings of William below. The elegant, curved lines of the top of Belgium. Its success there was largely Morris and believed that art should This mahogany coiffeuse was designed by the the piece are echoed in the arched stretchers due to the fact that people were always follow organic form \u2013 a theory artist-architect, Gustave Serrurier-Bovy, as a joining the legs, and the arch at the front encouraged to explore fresh, exciting that underlined his furniture designs. piece of bedroom furniture. The mirror is of the table, which creates the kneehole. ways of looking at the arts. Echoing nature\u2019s subtle curves and comprised of three panels, contained within 1899. H:188cm (74in); W:137cm (54in); lines, they were rendered in light- a gently curving frame. The table section has D:57cm (221\u20442in). The same, spirited Art Nouveau coloured, native timbers such as message that called for a cohesive, walnut, beech, and oak, and had panels. The piece terminates in splayed feet, unified interior \u2013 so successfully minimal decoration. Despite van which form part of the overall curved shape, accomplished elsewhere in Europe \u2013 de Velde\u2019s theories, function was and rests on brass casters. Henry van de Velde took root in Belgium in the work of a key to his sturdy yet elegantly simple believed that art should follow an organic form number of innovative artist-architects, cabinets, tables, and writing desks. and this influenced the shape and decoration such as Victor Horta, Henry van de of his furniture. c.1897\u201398. W:203.5cm Velde, and Gustave Serrurier-Bovy. VICTOR HORTA (80in). QU Another Belgian pioneer of the Art The Belgian version of Art Nouveau Nouveau style was the architect and had much in common with its French designer, Victor Horta, who designed counterpart. Both embraced free- spectacular buildings such as the flowing, sinuous, sculptural furniture, splendid Hotel Tassel in Brussels. His and had a rich vocabulary of decorative interiors coalesced into harmonious motifs in organic shapes \u2013 plants, and integrated ensembles: from wall flower blossoms, trees, butterflies, panelling, ceilings, and door frames and insects \u2013 all drawn from the to furniture and metalwork fixtures, natural world. using an exciting range of new materials, such as iron and glass. HENRY VAN DE VELDE Henry van de Velde won universal The cross-fertilization between acclaim for the design of his own French and Belgian Art Nouveau home near Brussels \u2013 Bloemenwerf \u2013 resulted in Horta\u2019s energetic, curving where furniture, carpets, and wall style \u2013 with its signature whiplash coverings combined to create a curves \u2013 influencing Parisian harmonious whole. He forged strong designers such as Hector Guimard. links with France by showcasing and His expensive furniture was skilfully selling his furniture at prestigious crafted in luxurious timbers such as retail shops in Paris, including maple, mahogany, and fruitwoods, Siegfried Bing\u2019s L\u2019Art Nouveau and and lavishly upholstered in fabrics La Maison Moderne owned by Julius such as velvet and silk. Meier-Graefe. Widely celebrated GUSTAVE SERRURIER-BOVY BED FRAME Like van de Velde and Horta, Gustave Serrurier-Bovy adopted many familiar This bed frame has a bold, curvilinear shape Art Nouveau decorative motifs to and is made from stained oak. It was designed complement his furniture, including by Henry van de Velde. The head and foot- plants and flowers, sinuous curves, boards have bowed and arched profiles and and high-wrought mounts of pewter pairs of raised and fielded, shield-shaped or brass. Determined to produce well- designed furniture for everyone, Serrurier-Bovy was also inspired by the English Arts and Crafts Movement, as seen in his robust, rectilinear furniture and in his preference for oak. The influence of these highly original Belgian designers reached beyond their national borders to set the cultural standard for Art Nouveau furniture throughout much of Europe. The Mus\u00e9e Horta This building was originally built by Victor Horta as his own studio and residence. This view shows the integrated interior, with both the staircase and glass dome featuring his characteristic whiplash curves. 1898.","BELGIUM 361 SIDE CHAIR 1880\u20131915 This mahogany chair was designed by Victor Horta and illustrates his use of sumptuous materials and curving style, as shown in the design of the chair back, legs, and stretchers. The seat is covered with a generously upholstered cushion. c.1901. H:95.2cm (371\u20442in). WALNUT TABLE MAHOGANY SCREEN This walnut occasional This mahogany screen, designed by Gustave Serrurier-Bovy, has table has an overhanging three glass panels that create strong vertical lines. In contrast, the circular top, arched apron, top of the piece is sinuous in shape. While the glass in the lower and curving, cabriole legs half of the screen is original, the upper pieces are replacements. that terminate in stylized 1899. H:159.8cm (63in). feet. The piece was designed by Henry van de Velde. c.1916. H:69.25cm (271\u20444in). QU The copper key mounts are The table top has a The three raised shelves MAHOGANY VITRINE simple and unobtrusive. distinctive kidney shape. emphasize the curved form of the bureau. The rectangular, tiled top of this mahogany vitrine has a sinuous, carved surround, above an open recess and cupboard with glazed door. The side has small shelves and carved brackets. The piece is in the style of the work of Victor Horta. c.1900. W:90cm (35in). Two doors on either side frame one open compartment. Rounded brass shoes on conical legs emphasize the curved design. LADY\u2019S BUREAU MAHOGANY AND MIXED-WOOD TABLE Designed by Henry van de Velde and made by H. Scheidemantel in Weimar, this bureau This side table is made of mahogany decorated with marquetry. design is typical of the work of van de Velde. The curved lines of the wood are used to The top is inlaid with a floral decoration above a short drawer, create an unusual and organic shape, avoiding applied, inlaid, or any elaborate decoration. and the cupboard is inlaid with a daffodil design. The supports The only detailing is the unobtrusive, copper key mounts and the brass shoes. c.1903. are embellished with sinuous tendrils and brass fittings. W:123cm (491\u20444in). QU c.1902. W:63.5cm (25in). CAL","362 ART NOUVEAU 1880\u20131915 italy and spain LAVISH, HIGHLY ORIGINAL furniture cabinets, chairs, and settees \u2013 was ITALIAN CHAIR SPANISH CABINET created by designers working in Spain not well constructed but had a rustic, and Italy represented the most exotic imaginative charm. The furniture often This Italian side chair was designed by This corner cabinet is made of oak. It has a form of Art Nouveau. combined useful features, such as tables Giacomo Cometti and is made of carved oak. round top with two curved glazed doors at the with built-in cabinets, and chairs that The sinuous carving on the back of the chair front. The doors are divided into six panels Italy called the style Stile Liberty, incorporated lamps. Pieces used a is confined to the splat, and the basic shape of glass by sinuous wooden partitions. The after the London shop at the forefront wide range of sumptuous materials of the chair is uncluttered by ornate decoration. interior of the cabinet has two shelves and of the movement, or Stile Floreale, due including silk, leather, and vellum The upholstery is attached to the seat with the piece stands on three legs. 1904\u201305. to the nature-inspired decoration that for upholstering chairs and covering small brass studs. c.1902. H:230cm (901\u20442in). characterized the movement. Italy had boxes and tabletops, and ebony, bone, a rich tradition of decoration based mother-of-pearl, and metals, which upper section consists of a central cupboard on nature, from Roman mosaics to were used as inlays. and drawers flanked by open storage. The lower the grandiose style of Baroque (see section contains a marble-topped cupboard. pp.40\u201341). The new style \u2013 on show at The range of Bugatti\u2019s influences Cometti was an artist-turned craftsman who the 1902 International Exhibition of can be seen in his use of soft, warm originally trained as a sculptor. He was heavily Modern Decorative Arts at Turin \u2013 was colours, textiles, and strips of beaten influenced by the English Arts and Crafts taken up by artisans such as Ernesto or pierced metal evocative of North Movement. c.1902. Basile, a master of Stile Floreale; the Africa, and the distinctive shield prolific designer and cabinet-maker, backs, crescent legs, and pinnacle and Carlo Zen; and Eugenio Quarto. minaret-shapes inspired by Islamic Quarto\u2019s exquisitely carved pieces were motifs. Bugatti caused a sensation with praised for appealing to Italian tastes the furniture he designed for particular and modern living needs, rather than settings, such as the prize-winning replicating northern European Art Moorish interior he created for the Nouveau designs. Italian Pavilion at the 1902 Turin International Exhibition of Modern CARLO BUGATTI Decorative Arts. However, it was Carlo Bugatti who held pride of place as a designer of While Bugatti\u2019s early furniture was extraordinary originality. Bugatti robust, with lively, complex patterns, established workshops in Milan in he later developed a more restrained 1888, where he created an eclectic style that depended on a palette of interpretation of Art Nouveau, based pale colours and serpentine curves, upon flowers, animals, and plants, influenced by the Parisian Art Egyptian, Byzantine, and Moorish Nouveau designers. influences, Japanese art, and fantasy. SPAIN AND GAUDI The handcrafted furniture produced A band of Catalan architects, led by in Bugatti\u2019s workshop \u2013 desks, Antoni Gaudi in Barcelona, brought the Art Nouveau style to Spain. A daringly original designer, Gaudi ITALIAN SIDEBOARD created idiosyncratic furniture that embraced nature with its sinuous This Italian carved oak sideboard was designed shapes and lavish use of decorative by Giacomo Cometti. The sideboard is decorated flower and plant motifs. Gaudi\u2019s with sinuous brass mounts carved with floral furniture featured several practical and foliate motifs, which are typical of the elements, such as cupboards that low-relief metalwork favoured by Cometti. The incorporated small tables. He often worked in oak, and much of his furniture was created for his sculptural buildings, such as Casa Mila and the Guell Palace. Other Spanish champions of Art Nouveau included cabinet-makers Gaspar Homar and Juan Busquet, who were known for their fantastic furniture. Parlour, designed by Agostino Lauro True to the concept that the room should be designed as a unified whole, all the elements of this parlour follow the same sinuous styling. The built-in bookcases are an integral part of the wall design and the furniture echoes the curves of the panelling.","ITALY AND SPAIN Woollen tassels The upper section 1880\u20131915 add decoration opens to reveal to the pillars. shelves and drawers, possibly for flatware. Japanese-style motifs decorate the frame. The doors are covered with vellum. MEDITERRANEAN ARMCHAIR This striking \u201cCalvet\u201d armchair is made entirely of oak. The piece was designed by Antoni Gaudi and has a heart-shaped back. The rounded seat rests on gently curving cabriole legs. c.1900. H:95cm (371\u20442in). The embossed and inlaid roundel encloses a geometric pattern in pale wood, ebony, silver, ivory, and brass inlay. NUT-WOOD ARMCHAIRS ITALIAN INLAID SIDEBOARD polished nut-wood with tops and inlays, and the boxes are made of soft-wood, covered with parchment and Japanese- This pair of dark stained armchairs was designed by Carlo Bugatti. Made by Carlo Bugatti, this sideboard shows Japanese, Moorish, style painted motifs. The piece is also decorated with lavish Each chair is decorated with inlaid pewter and embossed copper and Egyptian influences. The doors are covered with vellum, inlay materials, including brass, silver, ebony, and ivory. banding. The seat and back are upholstered in natural leather and and the upper door is hinged and drops down to reveal shelving This imaginative combination of wood, metal, parchment, further embellished with woollen tassels. c.1900. H:118.7cm and small drawers. The whole piece is contained within a four- and vellum results in an idiosyncratic style. c.1900. (463\u20444in). DOR pillar construction; the frame is made of brown stained and W:154.4cm (60in). VZ PRAYER BENCH OCCASIONAL TABLE This prayer bench, designed This mahogany occasional by Antoni Gaudi, has a table by Carlo Bugatti has a curved back, with flat top inlaid with pewter and armrests and a slightly bone and circular marquetry, bowed seat. The bench is and sides with stylized florets supported on slender and and roundels. The legs feature elegant curving legs, which embossed bronzed coverings. are linked by stretchers. Early 20th century. H:40cm Early 20th century. (153\u20444in). L&T","364 ART NOUVEAU 189480\u2013191705 CHARLES RENNIE MACKINTOSH straight lines with gentle curves and geometric biography decoration typify the elegantly attenuated furniture of one of scotland\u2019s 1868 Charles Rennie Mackintosh most respected designers. is born in Glasgow, the son of a police superintendent. 1889 Joins the Glasgow firm BORN AND EDUCATED in Glasgow, Charles Rennie of architects, John Honeyman Mackintosh won many prizes as a student, including the prestigious Alexander Thomson Travelling and Keppie. Scholarship, which took him to France, Belgium, and Italy. His career as an architect began in 1889 when 1893 Teams up with Herbert he joined the firm of John Honeyman and Keppie, rising to partner 12 years later, and remaining there J. MacNair and the Macdonald until 1914. Mackintosh turned his back on the widespread preference for the Classical tradition, Charles Rennie Mackintosh sisters \u2013 Margaret and Frances \u2013 cultivating instead an interest in Gothic architecture to form the \u201cGlasgow Four\u201d. as well as that of his native Scotland. 1896 Wins competition to design the Glasgow School of Art. Whereas furniture design in most parts of Britain was dominated by the Arts and Crafts style, a new 1897 Commissioned by Miss Kate Cranston to design her design movement flourished in Glasgow. Mackintosh was heavily influenced by the journal The Studio, chain of Glasgow tearooms. which illustrated the work of innovative artists and designers, and he started to design furniture, textiles, 1900 Mackintosh causes an international sensation with and interiors. Encouraged by Francis Newbury, the progressive director of the Glasgow School of Art, his interior and furniture designs for the 8th Secessionist Mackintosh teamed up with the artist, Herbert Exhibition in Vienna. MacNair, and the sisters, Frances and Margaret Macdonald, known as \u201cThe Glasgow Four\u201d. Together 1902 Designs integrated interiors for Hill House near they created distinctive designs for furniture, textiles, metalwork, and posters that became known as the Glasgow and a music room in Vienna for the Wiener Glasgow Style (see p.366). Werkst\u00e4tte\u2019s chief financial backer, Fritz Warndorfer. EBONIZED SYCAMORE CHAIR 1909 Completes Glasgow\u2019s School of Art library, his final This chair has a distinctive geometric trellis back resembling a stylized tree extending to the lower architectural masterpiece. stretcher. The drop-in seat is upholstered in a plain fabric. The piece was designed for Miss Cranston\u2019s 1914 Leaves Honeyman and Keppie and settles in London. \u2018Hous\u2019hill\u2019. 1904. H:72cm (281\u20444in). L&T 1928 Mackintosh dies of cancer in London. ARCHITECT AND FURNITURE DESIGNER OAK CABINET Among Mackintosh\u2019s architectural achievements were This cabinet makes use of the design and furnishing of the Glasgow School of light, feminine colours, with Art in 1897; a number of Glasgow tearooms for Miss its white paint and pink Kate Cranston in collaboration with the decorator detail. The design features George Walton; and several private houses. Furniture two figures holding a two- was minimal, emphasizing spatial effects and giving dimensional rose, an emblem the rooms an almost poetic atmosphere. that was used extensively in Mackintosh\u2019s furniture and Mackintosh designed furniture in his own name architecture. The piece was and also provided designs for the Glasgow furniture- made for 14 Kingsborough makers, Guthrie and Wells. Chairs particularly caught Gardens, Glasgow. 1902. his imagination, and he designed a variety of original styles in which the back was the H:154.3cm (603\u20444in); W:99.3cm main focus of attention. The furniture for Miss Cranston\u2019s (39in); D:39.7cm (151\u20442in). tearooms included the first of his signature high-backed chairs, in this case with an oval-shaped top rail. OAK TABLE This table is of characteristic rectilinear design with bold, straight lines and a cut-out heart motif on each of the supporting legs. The table was designed for the Billiard Room at Miss Cranston\u2019s Argyle Tearooms. 1897. H:71cm (28in); W:61cm (24in); D:61cm (24in).","CHARLES RENNIE MACKINTOSH 365 MACKINTOSH INTERIORS A SOPHISTICATED STYLE 1880\u20131915 The principles that lay at the heart of the Arts and AMONG HIS MANY ACHIEVEMENTS, CHARLES RENNIE MACKINTOSH IS BEST REMEMBERED FOR DESIGNING Crafts movement, such as careful attention to fine BUILDINGS WITH DECORATIVE INTERIORS THAT WERE CREATED AS PART OF A SINGLE, COHESIVE THEME. craftsmanship and using the nature, beauty, and colour of wood for decorative effect, mattered little In 1896, Mackintosh won the competition to design from mantlepieces, lighting fixtures, and carpets to to Mackintosh. Instead, his sophisticated furniture the new Glasgow School of Art. Mackintosh not only furniture and crockery. designs, which were sometimes even structurally produced the architectural design for the school but unsound, were inspired by E.W. Godwin\u2019s work also designed the interiors, in collaboration with In 1897, Mackintosh received the first in a series of and were based on bold, straight lines combined Margaret Macdonald. The design, which successfully commissions from Kate Cranston to decorate her chain with gentle curves. Mackintosh\u2019s favourite timbers blended clean, rectangular shapes with the languid, of Glasgow tearooms, a collaboration that continued included oak and beech, and while rich \u201cdark delicate curves of Art Nouveau, covered everything until 1917. For the Buchanan Street rooms, Mackintosh\u2019s masculine\u201d tones of grey, brown, and olive were used, input was restricted to the production of wall murals \u2013 he favoured a palette of \u201clight feminine\u201d white and the interiors and furnishings were designed by George pastel shades, similar to the colours found in the Walton. However, for the next commission \u2013 the Argyle paintings of American artist James McNeill Whistler. Street Tearooms \u2013 these responsibilities were reversed and Mackintosh produced his innovative, rectilinear Decoration was sparing and featured geometric chair designs. Mackintosh went on to create unified shapes such as rectangles and squares; curved, decorative schemes for tearooms in Ingram Street and rounded inlays in metal, pink or amethyst-coloured at The Willow in Sauchiehall Street, where the glass, mother-of-pearl, or enamel; and intricate architecture and interior design combined to create flower motifs such as the rose, derived from Japanese serene atmospheres. Furniture was restrained in both patterns and Celtic art. Elegant chairs had attenuated shape and decoration and exhibited his signature \u201clight backs, cupboards were crowned with broad projecting feminine\u201d and \u201cdark masculine\u201d colour schemes. The cornices, and tables had long, tapered supports. importance that Mackintosh placed on total design Mackintosh\u2019s interpretation of Art Nouveau was in meant that he even designed the teaspoons and marked contrast to both the luxurious sensuality waitresses\u2019 dresses for The Willow\u2019s Room de Luxe. of the French and Belgian Art Nouveau and the robust, masculine style found in English Arts and While Kate Cranston was Mackintosh\u2019s most Crafts furniture. consistent patron, others who bought into his ideal of integrated interiors included the Wiener Werkst\u00e4tte\u2019s GAINING RECOGNITION primary financial backer, Fritz Warndorfer, for whom Although Mackintosh\u2019s pure, rectilinear style was he designed a music room, and the publisher, Walter largely ignored in the rest of Britain, it was widely Blackie, who commissioned Hill House near Glasgow. admired throughout Europe and had a great influence on artists in Germany and Austria. When Mackintosh The House of an Art Lover, Glasgow Mackintosh\u2019s geometric exhibited his furniture at the 8th Secessionist interior features a suite of white high-backed chairs and a square Exhibition in 1900 in Vienna, his work made a dining table. The geometric shapes of the furniture are echoed in the wall panelling. lasting impression on contemporary Austrian designers: Koloman Moser and Josef Hoffmann, in particular, appreciated his confident, rational style, and decorative schemes. Mackintosh left Glasgow for London in 1914, and his last years were devoted to a few modest architectural projects, painting, and textile designs. A memorial exhibition, after his death, in Glasgow in 1933 stimulated interest in Mackintosh\u2019s designs for buildings, interiors, and furniture, and finally gave him the recognition he deserved. In the 1950s, a revival of interest in the Art Nouveau sparked a reappraisal of Mackintosh\u2019s furniture designs, and today he is acknowledged as an influential forerunner of the Modern movement (see pp.416\u201347). STAINED PINE CABINET. CABINET ON STAND This cabinet has three drawers with pierced, This oak rectilinear cabinet has two doors with central crescent-shaped handles set above panelled glazed panels, and the frame has three square-section doors. W:155cm (61in). L&T vertical supports at either end, joined by two stretchers at floor level. Mid-way is a shelf with a raised edge on three sides. 1900. H:141cm (551\u20442in). QU","366 ART NOUVEAU 1880\u20131915 the Glasgow school AT THE HEART OF the Art Nouveau broad range of commercial crafts, \u201cGlasgow Style\u201d. This style incorporated A Glasgow School hammered brass mirror This movement in Scotland, the Glasgow including bookbinding, woodcarving, natural imagery together with a strong, piece has a repouss\u00e9, stylized, floral motif design School of Art sowed the seeds of an ceramics, stained glass, and metalwork. psychological identification with the with long, flowing tendrils ending in a swirl, and artistic revolution. city \u2013 then booming economically and a circular bud design with striking blue enamel KEY DESIGNERS culturally \u2013 powered by its engineering centres. c.1900\u201310. H:231\u20444in (59cm). GDG The enterprising director, Francis An influential team of designers and and industrial skills. Newbery, and his wife Jessie, were architects closely associated with the instrumental in taking the Glasgow Glasgow School included Charles It was a decidedly Scottish and School of Art beyond its traditional Rennie Mackintosh, J. Herbert occasionally modest interpretation role as an institution for formal MacNair, and the sisters Margaret of the Art Nouveau. Simple, geometric instruction in painting. A great admirer and Frances MacDonald. Known as furniture designs were decorated with and champion of the teachings of \u201cThe Glasgow Four\u201d or \u201cFour Macs\u201d, stylized patterns of flowers, plants, William Morris, Newbery urged his they created furniture and interior students to learn as much as they decoration inspired by Arts and Crafts animals, figural patterns, could from the Arts and Crafts and Art ideology, but which developed as a and Celtic-style Nouveau movements. He set up art movement in its own right and was decoration. These studios where artist-craftsmen provided celebrated around the world as the were shown in unusual a \u201ctechnical artistic education\u201d in a colours drawn from local scenery, such as ARMCHAIR TABLE CABINET This stained beech chair has an elongated splat This Bijouterie table and cabinet by James inlaid with stylized plant forms, a U-shaped Herbert MacNair is made of stained beech. The top rail and arms, an upholstered panel seat, glazed, hinged top, is flanked by sliding demi- and square, tapering, stretchered legs. lune display boxes. It has square, tapering legs. H:147.25cm (58in). L&T c.1901. H:77cm (301\u20442in). L&T STANDING CLOCK HALLSTAND SETTLE The stained beech case has foliate piercings. This arched rectangular mirror is set in a shaped This stained beech settle by Sir Robert Lorimer The brass dial, designed by Margaret Thomson and pierced oval frame fitted with coat pegs has a rectangular solid seat and back. The back Wilson, depicts two female figures \u2013 one above a shelf. The piece is made of ebonized is carved with five roundels enclosing leafy holding a galleon \u2013 touching a stylized hour wood. It has a glove drawer and a shaped, foliate plant forms and bears the inscription: \u201cBlessit glass above sinuous plant forms. c.1900. upright supporting a stick stand. H:192cm be simple life without end Reid.\u201d W:152cm H:206cm (801\u20442in). L&T (751\u20442in). L&T (593\u20444in). L&T","THE GLASGOW SCHOOL 367 heathery purple, misty greys, and elongated figures, and intricate linear inspired by a cabbage cut in half. 1880\u20131915 soft green. The Glasgow style won designs in glass, metal, and enamel. Other talents associated with the international acclaim, especially at Glasgow School were Ernest Archibald the 8th Secessionist Exhibition in THE ROSE EMBLEM Taylor, lauded for his clean, elegant, 1900 in Vienna, and exercised a Nature always inspired the Glasgow and highly refined designs in the style potent influence on the architects Four and was occasionally approached of Charles Rennie Mackintosh; George of industrial design in Germany and from a scientific perspective. Even the Walton, with his delicate and subtle Austria. The rooms furnished by the group\u2019s emblem \u2013 the two-dimensional designs for furniture, textiles, and group for the 1902 Turin International rose, which was designed by glass; and Talwin Morris, who worked Exhibition of Modern Decorative Mackintosh and featured frequently in a variety of media, from furniture Arts focused on controlled line, on its architecture and furniture \u2013 was to textiles, metalwork, and glass. eschewing serpentine curves, and favouring symmetrical flowers, The Glasgow School of Art This building was designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh in 1896 and is regarded as one of his most notable architectural achievements. Geometric floral design Moulded hinges and handles display intricate foliate designs. Elaborate wooden inlays depict stylized geometric floral designs. Rectangular and arched fielded panels decorate the front. The pierced wooden plinth has a curved geometric pattern. HALLSTAND MAHOGANY CUPBOARD The moulded hinges and handles are elaborately decorated with foliate motifs. The plinth is pierced at the front and This hallstand is made of stained oak. It was designed by Wylie and This inlaid cupboard is made from mahogany and consists sides with a repeating heart-shaped pattern that echoes the Lochhead and shows the influence of Mackintosh. The moulded cornice of elegant, vertical lines embellished with a projecting and inlaid design. The cupboard was possibly designed by J.S. above a central bevelled plate is flanked by repouss\u00e9 copper panels moulded cornice. It is raised on a plinth. In contrast to Henry, a Glasgow wholesale company that often supplied showing stylized briar roses. Decorative supports in the form of flower the simple lines of the piece, the fielded, panelled door is furniture to Liberty and Co. and worked with leading stems add to the overall design. H:197cm (79in); W:186cm (73in); inlaid with florid, geometric, stylized flowers, plant forms, designers such as George Walton. H:210cm (823\u20444in); D:32cm (121\u20442in). L&T foliage, and stems, and is flanked by similarly inlaid panels. W:150cm (59in). L&T","368 ART NOUVEAU 1880\u20131915 britain BRITISH FURNITURE DESIGNERS took including Marsh Jones and Cribbs UPHOLSTERED ARMCHAIR OCCASIONAL TABLE the basic themes of Art Nouveau and in Leeds, and Wylie and Lochhead in interpreted them in two different ways: Glasgow. Their work also sold abroad. This mahogany armchair has distinctive, This table has a shaped lower tier beneath some experimented with a more Although their furniture was mass- horizontal, slatted arms and a drop-in seat. the hexagonal lobed top. There are three understated version of the flowing, produced, it was very high quality. The top rail is inlaid with a band of five elaborately pierced supports, each terminating feminine lines popular in France stylized seedpods. The seat and back are in a pair of slender, curved legs. H:70.5cm and Belgium; others, most famously DECORATIVE INLAYS AND MOTIFS upholstered in a floral fabric. L&T (281\u20444in). L&T Scotland\u2019s Charles Rennie Mackintosh Shapland and Petter, together with the (see pp.364\u201365), favoured the restrained, architect and designer, Ernest Gimson, liberty & co. rectilinear style seen in Germany used inlays of ivory, silver, abalone shell, and Austria. In fact, the Viennese mother-of-pearl, and fruitwoods to THIS EMPORIUM ON LONDON\u2019S REGENT STREET WAS FOUNDED IN 1875, Secessionists later drew inspiration decorate their designs. AND WAS AT THE VANGUARD OF THE NEW STYLE. themselves from the bold, architectural furniture that Mackintosh designed. As in France and Belgium, motifs In 1883, Liberty & Co., already famous A signature Liberty & Co. ivorine plaque Interestingly, the Art Nouveau from the natural world \u2013 stylized for its Oriental wares and Art Nouveau movement in Britain also evolved from peacock feathers, snowdrops, and lilies fabrics, opened a Furnishing and the stylized forms of Aesthetic period \u2013 were worked in marquetry or metal Decorating Studio under the direction furniture (see p.326). inlays; designs for decorative hinges of Leonard F. Wyburd. The Studio\u2019s aim and door pulls were often inspired by was to meet the growing demand for WELL-CRAFTED FURNITURE the sinuous, whiplash lines that were fashionable, decorative, and affordable Towards the end of the 19th century, favoured by Continental makers. furniture that incorporated the design the quality of British furniture had vocabulary of Art Nouveau. The furniture started to decline, as mass-production The Glasgow firm of Wylie and borrowed freely from pioneering enabled manufacturers to churn out Lochhead also made pieces in this designers such as C.F.A. Voysey and hundreds of identical pieces at style, sometimes combining elements Charles Rennie Mackintosh, who also affordable prices for the growing with the angular look favoured by contributed designs. By 1887, Liberty middle classes. Mackintosh and the Glasgow School. was selling a highly successful range of simple chairs and country-style The work of William Morris and ARTS AND CRAFTS HYBRID oak furniture embellished with inlaid the Arts and Crafts movement had Some of the designers and craftsmen decoration, elaborate strap hinges, leaded started to reverse this by championing who had been working in the Arts glass panels, and tiles, bringing Art furniture handmade by craftsmen. The and Crafts style \u2013 including Charles Nouveau furniture to a wider audience. trend was continued by designers and Frances Annesley Voysey and Charles craftsmen working in the Art Nouveau Robert Ashbee \u2013 were influenced by Copper mirror This piece is decorated with Walnut dressing table The table has original style, who, despite using machines Art Nouveau motifs, and combined embossed repouss\u00e9 stems, each supporting a hinged copper handles. The simple construction to produce their furniture, also put a them with a more sturdy Arts and blue bud-shaped \u201croundel\u201d, or pottery disc. and restrained decoration are typical of Liberty premium on quality. Crafts form to create a hybrid look. c.1900. W:64.5cm (25in). PUR & Co. H:180cm (71in). L&T Many British Art Nouveau furniture- Voysey, for example, used decoration makers used satinwood or walnut as sparingly, preferring to let the grain well as mahogany for their designs. and beauty of the woods he used Some of the most spectacular examples speak for themselves. However, when of their work are display cabinets or he occasionally used metal mounts or cupboards that feature intricately cut panels, these were often in a flowing and inlaid designs. style inspired by Art Nouveau. SHAPLAND AND PETTER The London store Liberty & Co. Although perhaps best known for (see right) helped to popularize Art their work in the Arts and Crafts Nouveau by championing the work tradition, the firm of Shapland and of the most innovative designers, Petter produced elaborate, high- such as Voysey and Mackintosh, and quality furniture in exotic woods also by commissioning commercial such as mahogany. Based in Barnstaple, imitations. Much of Liberty\u2019s furniture Devon, they also made oak pieces was made in oak and mahogany, and decorated with good-quality carving, the designs they commissioned from colour-stained panels, or stylized Leonard F. Wyburd and E.G. Punnett copper panels, as well as ceramic for oak cupboards, tables, and chairs roundels made locally by the are among the store\u2019s most widely Brannam pottery works. recognized items of furniture. Liberty furniture was known for its simple Their team of designers remained construction, symmetrical design, and anonymous, but Shapland and Petter the restrained use of decorative motifs, supplied stores across Britain, and it was often marked \u201cLiberty & Co.\u201d on a rectangular plaque.","BRITAIN 369 1880\u20131915 CORNER CHAIR WRITING DESK Specifically designed to stand in a corner, and a direct descendant of the The pierced gallery at the back of this mahogany corner chairs of the late 18th century, this chair has backs on two sides of desk, and the embossed copper panels depicting the square rush seat. The moulded top rail is supported by shaped splats. owls and stylized plants, place this piece firmly in The chair is raised on turned legs, linked by parallel stretchers, and ending the Art Nouveau period. The desk is thought to be in bulbous feet. L&T the work of either Shapland & Petter or Wylie & Lochhead \u2013 both highly regarded furniture DISPLAY CABINET manufacturers. H:118cm (461\u20442in); W:106cm (413\u20444in). L&T This ornate and curvaceous mahogany cabinet features marquetry decoration of flowers and whiplash tendrils. This fashionable technique was used The door and drawer extensively on expensive furniture during the period. The cabinet doors, fittings are handmade. positioned below the oval mirror, are made of leaded glass decorated with a tulip pattern. H:177cm (70 3\u20444in). L&T A central tabernacle provides open storage. The marquetry panel has a stylized and geometric floral design. The door hinges, handles, and escutcheon are decorated with bold geometric motifs. The wooden case was made by machine. WARDROBE This mahogany wardrobe is a high-quality combination of traditional craftsmanship and machine technology typical of its maker, Shapland & Petter. A decorative feature is made of the plated metal-hammered door and drawer fittings, and the central cupboard door is inlaid with distinctive foliate motifs. H:210cm (82 3\u20444in). DN","370 ART NOUVEAU 1880\u20131915 edwardian britain WHILE SOME EDWARDIAN households Art Nouveau and Revival furniture were Upholsterer\u2019s Guide were reprinted and painted to resemble satinwood. embraced the latest Art Nouveau made in parallel to satisfy the needs the Revival was confirmed. The result Some designers slimmed down forms, many returned to the furniture of the less adventurous Edwardians was a fusion of the work of these three styles of the past and the latest Classical as well as those who subscribed to designers, adapted to suit smaller Sheraton\u2019s designs to make them more revivals. Designs from various historical the latest fashions. Edwardian rooms and a desire for delicate. This occasionally went too periods were dusted off and reworked comfort. It was also a rejection of far and resulted in pieces that were by companies throughout Britain. REVIVAL FURNITURE the heavy, sombre furniture popular spindly and out of proportion. Inspiration ranged from the distant The Revival trend had started in the in Victorian times. past \u2013 Renaissance, Elizabethan, late 19th century after a new series Others took the path of true imitation Jacobean, and even Gothic \u2013 to the of interior design books, aimed at the Revival furniture was often made and aimed to recreate Sheraton and more recent Neoclassical work of middle classes, reignited the fashion from light mahogany, satinwood, other Neoclassical designers exactly. Sheraton, Hepplewhite, and Robert for the three great names of British or satin-birch, and decorated with Some of these pieces are so faithful to Adam. The result was comfortable Neoclassical furniture. Then, in 1897, stringing, crossbanding, and wooden rather than cutting-edge, and less Sheraton\u2019s The Cabinet-Maker and inlays of fans or shells, set with bone, the original that cluttered than the Victorian ideal. Upholsterer\u2019s Drawing Book and or painted with flowers and foliate it takes an Hepplewhite\u2019s The Cabinet-Maker and scrolls. Decoration was often elaborate. expert to tell Sometimes pieces were made from them apart. less exotic and expensive wood and Gillow of Lancaster and Edwards Glass shelves reflect the light and emphasize the objects inside. SIDE CHAIR This is one of a pair of Sheraton Revival satinwood side chairs. The pierced, oval back is centred by a portrait of a young girl, and the seat is covered with caning. The front legs are turned. Early 20th century. DN Glass panels allow treasured objects to be displayed. Painted swags and medallions are Classically inspired. The casing and legs are slender and delicate. SATINWOOD VITRINE the period, are Classical in style. The cornice OCCASIONAL TABLE and pediment are decorated with portrait-style The elegant proportions of this cabinet are paintings. Vitrines did not become common This circular table is made from mahogany and characteristic of the Edwardian era, when until the second half of the 19th century. has satinwood banding and floral marquetry. furniture became more slender and delicate. This one bears a label from Maple & Co. The square tapered supports are united by Influences were diverse, but the painted swag Early 20th century. H:73cm (293\u20444in); stretchers. Early 20th century. decoration, medallions, and motifs typical of W:136.5cm (531\u20442in). MLL D:66cm (26in). GorL","EDWARDIAN BRITAIN 371 and Roberts of London are among the good quality. However, veneers were Sofas were often based on Sheraton for sale at home and abroad, and 1880\u20131915 best of these furniture-makers, but sometimes used to disguise poor and Hepplewhite styles, but were less drew its customers from both the many other firms made inexpensive construction. There was a great overblown than Victorian examples. middle and upper classes and even copies for the mass-market. Many demand for desks; bookcases; Manufacturers made suites of chairs royalty \u2013 Tsar Nicholas of Russia pieces were not marked by the chests-of-drawers; display cabinets; with matching sofas, usually from furnished his Winter Palace with makers, so attributing them can commodes; side, dining, and other mahogany, but sometimes walnut furniture from its workrooms. Maples be difficult. chairs; tables including dining, or satinwood. Seats were often also furnished British Embassies, even occasional, and dressing; marble- upholstered in silk or damask, while going so far as to arrange for a grand A STEADY DEMAND topped washstands; bedside cupboards; the backs and sides were caned. piano to be carried up the Khyber Despite the volume of furniture made, and wardrobes that were frequently Pass on packhorses. much Edwardian furniture was of part of a bedroom suite. PRINCIPAL MAKERS Important names in Edwardian For those whose taste did not fit in furniture included Waring and Gillow with either the Revival or Art Nouveau and Maple and Co. Maples was based movements, there was an opportunity in Tottenham Court Road, London, to furnish their homes in an exotic and was the largest furniture store in manner using the new bamboo and the world. It made its own furniture wicker furniture, or pieces with a Moorish or Japanese influence. LADY\u2019S WRITING DESK Elaborate drop handle Classical inlay motif Probably made by Maple & Co, this rosewood and marquetry compact lady\u2019s writing desk, or bonheur-du-jour, has a raised, galleried back with lidded interior compartments. The inset-leather writing surface sits above three frieze drawers and the piece is raised on slender legs. c.1905. W:100cm (40in). FRE ROLLTOP DESK TWO-TIER \u00c9TAG\u00c8RE DISPLAY CABINET The lid of this satinwood marquetry-decorated piece opens This \u00e9tag\u00e8re is made of inlaid mahogany and satinwood This impressive mahogany cabinet has fine crossbanded decoration and an to reveal a mechanical interior. Initially introduced in the banding. The top is formed from a later glass-based tray, astragal-glazed door and panels. The cornice is centred with an architectural 18th century, the rolltop desk was reinterpreted during the and the piece stands on square, swept supports. \u00c9tag\u00e8res pediment and the base is decorated with fiddleback mahogany and satinwood Art Nouveau period to meet changing tastes. Early 20th were used for displaying objects or serving food. lozenges on the central door and canted sides. The cabinet is supported century. W:95cm (371\u20442in). DN Early 20th century. W:91.5cm (36in). GorL on slender legs. Early 20th century. W:95cm (371\u20442in). DN","1880\u20131915372 ART NOUVEAU (Youth Style) \u2013 a name associated with were painters who turned to the contemporaries. Endell designed the popular review Die Jugend (Youth) decorative arts as part of a reaction boldly proportioned, clean-lined germany \u2013 and it subsequently flourished against the stifling historicism of the furniture in materials such as elm or throughout Germany during the last fine arts. Munich was home to some forged steel, and paid considerable GERMANY TOOK LONGER to embrace decades of the 19th century. of these designers, and came to be attention to decorative detail. the changes in decorative arts seen the city at the heart of the movement. elsewhere in Europe. This was largely Jugendstil embraced both Symbolism Among the furniture designers because it was still preoccupied with and a preoccupation with nature INNOVATIVE DESIGNERS in the Munich group were Richard the prevailing Historismus style, and natural shapes. It was applied Early advocates of Jugendstil included Riemerschmid, Bruno Paul, and the where design was centred on an to everything from architecture to Hermann Obrist, who was inspired by architect, Peter Behrens. interpretation of historic elements. furniture and simple household objects. the Symbolists\u2019 emotions and the plant Each element had to work as part of world, and architect August Endell, Behrens was also one of the However, through the influence a whole in terms of form and design: a who played a pivotal role throughout founding members of the Vereinigte of the Belgian designer Henry van concept called Gesamtkunstwerk. The the development of Munich\u2019s Werkst\u00e4tten f\u00fcr Kunst im Handwerk de Velde \u2013 who worked on a number aim was to make the home a unified, Secessionist movement (United Workshops for Applied Art). of high-profile projects in Germany \u2013 total work of art: practical, simple, by seeking to echo the His furniture combined traditional and the innovative work of gifted dignified, and beautiful. spirit of his Austrian German artists such as Richard rectilinear shapes with restrained Riemerschmid, Peter Behrens, and Many of the exponents of Jugendstil curves. Richard Riemerschmid, Franz von Stuck, the Art Nouveau a talented designer, painter, and style became popular. This style was known in Germany as Jugendstil The six-panel circular The six veneered fields bring top is repeated in the out the decorative quality of six C-scroll supports the wood surface. underneath the table. SIDE CHAIR This chair by Peter Behrens was designed for the poet Richard Dehmel\u2019s house in Hamburg. Made of white painted wood, the chair is geometric in design, with bold cut-out shapes on the back and has straight legs. c.1903. H:95cm (371\u20442in). The pedestal is urn-shaped. Six C-scroll supports stand on a plain circular foot plate. CIRCULAR DINING TABLE repeats the shape of the circular table top. With Richard YELLOW LACQUERED CUPBOARD Riemerschmid, Behrens was the first industrial designer, This oak pedestal dining table was designed by Peter Behrens designing specifically for mass production. With this piece, This pinewood cupboard was designed by Gertrud Kleinhempel and made by the Vereingte Werkst\u00e4tten f\u00fcr Kunst im Behrens moved away from his earlier elaborate and curvilinear and made by Dresdner Werkst\u00e4tten. Two of its four doors are Handwerk, Munich. It has a panelled top above an urn-shaped Art Nouveau style towards a simpler style that depended on pierced with heart motifs, and it is divided horizontally with pedestal. The six C-scroll supports underneath the table repeat the the quality of the wood, and simple shapes and proportions. three rows of rectangular, black and white scenic panels. symmetry of the six-panel circular top. The circular foot plate also c.1900. W:102cm (403\u20444in). QU c.1900. H:185cm (73in). QU","GERMANY 373 architect, was also linked to the Germany also spawned a host of art\u201d could be found at Darmstadt in 1880\u20131915 workshops. His furniture followed artists\u2019 guilds, established in an effort the house that Peter Behrens designed Behrens\u2019 example but was also to realise the ideals of the British Arts for himself. The interior, furniture, and influenced by Celtic origins, which and Crafts movement. decoration created a unified whole. played a role in Germany\u2019s decorative traditions. His simply shaped furniture THE DARMSTADT COLONY By the beginning of the 20th century, used wood in its natural state and The most notable of these guilds was Germany had embraced industrial colour, with the grain its most founded in 1899 by Ernst Ludwig, production and increasingly turned distinctive decorative feature. Bruno Grand Duke of Hesse, and was based its attention to improving the quality Paul, another protagonist of Jugendstil, at Darmstadt. Largely the vision of of mass-produced, industrial products. developed comfortable, rectilinear the Austrian architect and designer, This signalled the death knoll for Art designs called Typenm\u00f6bel which he Josef Maria Olbrich, the Darmstadt Nouveau, with its ideals of hand- was able to mass produce. They were colony included public buildings and craftsmanship, freedom of artistic a forerunner of the industrial furniture residences that were designed, built, creation, and refined decoration. production of the 1930s and 40s. and furnished for various artists. Pewter picture frame The frame has a Some of the most celebrated curvaceous, waisted shape with sinuous examples of the German \u201cnew and interlaced stylized plant motifs rising from the feet. c.1905. H:24cm (91\u20442in). TO DINING CHAIR BEECH FRAME ARMCHAIR This is a poplar dining This beech chair was designed by Marcel chair which comes from Kammerer and made by Thonet of Vienna a set of nine, designed (see p.375). The bentwood frame is by Peter Behrens. It is stained mahogany, and the stuffed seat lacquered and has a and buttoned back are covered in brown leather seat. c.1901. leather. c.1910. H:81.5cm (32in). DOR SIX-DRAWER COMMODE LEMON MAHOGANY CUPBOARD COUCH TABLE OAK FRAME ARMCHAIR This stained pine commode, designed by This Patriz Huber cupboard is polished and This mahogany table, designed by Richard This oak chair by Otto Eckmann has square- Richard Riemerschmid, has a rectangular partly carved. It has inlays of different exotic Riemerschmid and made by Dresdner section arms, rails, legs, supports, and stretchers, top with a three-sided splashback. The six woods and copper mountings. The top has Werkst\u00e4tten, has a hexagonal top, a round with the latter two bowed. It has a brass-riveted, drawers have nickel-plated pulls. c.1905. facetted glazing and shelves on either side. second tier, and curved legs. 1905. H:69cm leather-upholstered back and seat pads. H:130.5cm (511\u20442in). QU c.1900. H:200cm (80in). QU (27in); W:51cm (20in); D:51cm (20in). QU c.1900. H:95cm (371\u20442in). QU","1880\u20131915374 ART NOUVEAU the chairmanship of Gustav Klimt. for the new century. The Secessionists sinuous plant forms popular with This movement protested against the rejected the flamboyant naturalism of the French and Belgian Schools were austria conservative teachings of its masters French Art Nouveau, preferring the rejected in favour of rectangles and and campaigned for modernity, linear furniture designs created by squares. The Secessionists based their VIENNA WAS PARTICULARLY receptive heralding the beginning of one the Scottish architect Charles Rennie designs on a spare, geometric style, to the desire for innovation that swept of Austria\u2019s most creative periods. Mackintosh (see pp.364\u201365), who was across Europe in the last 25 years of widely admired in Vienna. Austrian the 19th century. This recognition BOLD DESIGNS designers were more influenced by the of the need for change signalled the Sculptors and artists were active in the British Arts and Crafts movement of approaching demise of the Austro- Secession, as were the architects and the late 19th century than by French Hungarian Empire, which collapsed interior designers Otto Wagner, Adolf or Belgian Art Nouveau. at the end of World War I. Austria Loos, and Josef Maria Olbrich, and founded her own distinctive version furniture designers Josef Hoffmann NATURAL INSPIRATION of Art Nouveau, and established a and Koloman Moser. This enterprising The Secessionists were inspired by new set of stylistic ideals. group created bold furniture designs the geometry of nature. The curving, The Vienna art establishment was challenged by a group of artists, architects, and designers, who, in 1897, founded the \u201cSecession\u201d under DISPLAY CABINET BLACK-PAINTED CUPBOARD This mahogany display cabinet is part of a Designed by Adolf Loos, this functional cupboard dining-room set designed by Otto Wytrlik of is made from softwood, painted black and then Vienna. Note the straight lines of the design varnished. It has distinctive twin two-over-three and the simple veneered walnut finish and glazed doors and brass hardware. c.1908. brass fittings. c.1901. WKA H:142.25cm (56in). WKA The case is oak, The panels of the glazed door The embossed panels with furnished and polished, form a geometric pattern harpist and knight motifs with maple inlays. with the low shelf. were inspired by Klimt. DISPLAY CABINET the centre is flanked by brass panels embossed VIENNESE SERVING TABLE CIRCULAR TABLE with a scene depicting a harpist and a knight. This oak cabinet was made in Vienna. It is The design of these panels was influenced by This serving table is made of stained oak with This small, circular-topped, beech bentwood almost square in shape and rests on a framed Gustav Klimt\u2019s Beethoven Frieze. The embossed brass handles. It has a removable top with table is of a very simple design with no plinth. The glazed central door is flanked by panels were probably created for this piece by glass inlay, and hinged sides with facetted additional decoration. It has two circular flat-panel doors with geometric-pattern oak Klimt\u2019s brother, Georg. c.1905\u201310. H:183cm glass panels to allow access to the shelves. undertiers, and the piece stands on slightly figuring and maple inlays. The open shelf in (72in). QU c.1905. H:77.5cm (31in). DOR splayed supports. H:75cm (291\u20442in). DN","AUSTRIA 375 using simple shapes and linear Moser, co-founders of the Wiener Michael Thonet (see below). ADOLF LOOS 1880\u20131915 patterns and new materials such Werkst\u00e4tte in 1903. Hoffmann created More colourful than most Viennese The architect Adolf Loos was a key as plywood, aluminium, and bent a purer, more linear version of the Art member of the Secessionist movement. beechwood. Their furniture was Nouveau style producing furniture furniture of the time, Kolomon Moser\u2019s Better known for his philosophical designed for uncluttered interiors. in a simple, geometric form that was tables, cabinets, and chairs were linear writings than his buildings, Loos elegant and restrained, thereby forging but lavishly embellished. In fact, wrote an essay, \u201cOrnament and KEY FIGURES a link between Art Nouveau and decoration often took precedence over Crime\u201d, in which he opposed the The most distinguished Secessionists Modernism. Hoffmann was a designer form, with luxurious woods, such as highly decorative style of Art Nouveau. were Josef Hoffmann and Koloman for the firm established by the German, rosewood, used for veneers and Instead, he advocated that reason, not decorative inlays. passion, should determine the way that people designed. The Secessionist\u2019s linear, geometric interpretation of Art Nouveau paved the way for the geometric shapes and spare style later favoured by the Bauhaus and the Modern movement of the 1930s. LARCHWOOD TABLE AND CHAIRS fabric. The table is made of nut wood, with BENTWOOD CHAIR FOOTSTAND a red-brown leather skiver on the top. The This round table and chairs were designed profiled legs are decorated with floral carving, Armchair \u201cNo.25\u201d, made by Mundus of Vienna, This three-legged footstand was designed by and made by the company of Portois & Fix in and there is a shelf about halfway down the is made of dark-brown stained beech, with Adolf Loos. It has a mahogany-stained, beach Vienna. The chairs are made of larch wood legs. All of the pieces bear the manufacturer\u2019s an open backsplat decorated with stylized, top, which is carved into a bowl shape. The and the backs are carved in an elaborate floral stamp. c.1900\u201305. H:106.5cm (42in) scrolling plant stems and a canework seat. piece stands on splayed mahogany legs. pattern. The seats are upholstered in a floral (table). DOR c.1910. H:91.5cm (36in). DOR c.1905. H:44cm (171\u20442in). DOR gebr\u00dcder thonet Wall mirror This piece is made from carved bentwood to create a simple, elegant effect. IN AUSTRIA, THE EVOLUTION OF ART NOUVEAU FURNITURE OWES MUCH The wood has been steamed and then bent TO THE TRAILBLAZING DESIGNS OF CRAFTSMAN MICHAEL THONET. into shape, and this technique is a hallmark of Thonet\u2019s furniture. H:53cm (21in); W:100cm (391\u20442in). CSB In his small furniture workshop, Michael with its sinuous, elegant curves Gebr\u00fcder Thonet catalogue Thonet perfected the bentwood technique inspired a number of celebrated The catalogue for L\u2019industrie \u2013 marrying forward-looking, elegant Art Nouveau architects and Thonet bears the subtitle design with industrial production \u2013 that designers, including Charles Rennie \u201cFrom handcraftsmanship ultimately exploded on the international Mackintosh and Henry van de Velde. to mass production: stage. In 1849, Thonet established the The reputation of the bentwood furniture.\u201d Gebr\u00fcder Thonet company, setting up a Thonet Brothers attracted host of factories across Eastern Europe. a collection of visionary Gu\u00e9ridon This small table is In the following decades the company talents who designed made of beech wood and achieved tremendous growth and success furniture for the firm, consists of a plain top above as it paved the way for the industrial among them one of the an ornate bentwood base, mass production of functional, pioneering founders of decorated with oval motifs. inexpensive and robust furniture the Wiener Werkst\u00e4tte H:75cm (30in); W:80cm that contributed to the fashion for Josef Hoffmann, along (32in); D:60cm (24in). CSB minimal ornamentation. with Otto Wagner, Adolf Loos, Koloman Moser, Towards the end of the 19th century, and Otto Prutscher. Thonet\u2019s signature bentwood furniture","376 ART NOUVEAU 189480\u2013191705 WIENER WERKST\u00c4TTE the desire to make simple, functional objects that were also well designed, motivated a trio of designers to create the Wiener werkst\u00e4tte in 1903. THE PAINTER, DESIGNER, and book illustrator, Koloman SECESSION HOUSE, VIENNA The Secession House Moser, the architect and designer, Josef Hoffmann, was designed by Josef Maria Olbrich and used by and the painter and designer, Carl Otto Czeschka Secession artists. The building\u2019s spare, geometric established the Wiener Werkst\u00e4tte (Viennese style is typical of the Secession movement, which Workshops) for the applied and decorative arts. The pioneered striking, linear designs. 1897\u201398. Wiener Werkst\u00e4tte rejected the sweeping curves and floral motifs of Art Nouveau and, instead, followed J. & J. kohn the example set by similar workshops in Germany and Britain. These aimed to elevate the role of the JACOB AND JOSEF KOHN BECAME RECOGNIZED ACROSS EUROPE AS LEADING MANUFACTURERS OF artist-craftsman by integrating the skills of the artisan SIMPLE, WELL-DESIGNED, AND WELL-MADE FURNITURE AIMED AT A MIDDLE-CLASS CLIENTELE. with those of the designer. It is a measure of the Wiener Werkst\u00e4tte\u2019s considerable commercial success Josef Hoffmann chair This Cabaret Fledermaus The company that the brothers Jacob and Josef Kohn established in that it influenced taste throughout the decorative and chair is made of stained beechwood, with turned Vienna in the late 19th century had an extensive output. Amongst applied arts until it closed in 1932. legs, ebony ball brackets under the curved top rail the goods manufactured was unpretentious furniture inspired by an and seat rails, and an upholstered, drop-in seat. artistic tradition based on the modest, Neoclassical Biedermeier style Initially, the Wiener Werkst\u00e4tte was sponsored c.1905. H:75cm (291\u20442in). DOR of the early 19th century (see pp.216\u201317), which according to Josef by the enlightened industrialist and financier, Fritz Hoffmann was \u201cthe last period\u2026to offer a valid expression of art\u201d. Warndorfer, who took the title of commercial director, The artists of the Wiener Werkst\u00e4tte tried to emulate the achievement with Moser and Hoffmann in artistic charge. A of the Biedermeier movement by energizing middle-class taste and skilled team of craftsmen worked across a broad liberating homes from mass-produced revivalist styles, and they were spectrum of the decorative arts, including handmade aided in this mission by J. & J. Kohn. metalwork, furniture, textiles, the graphic arts, fashion, jewellery, leatherwork, and the theatre. Kohn\u2019s reputation was enhanced by its collaboration with Josef Hoffmann, and it manufactured a number of his furniture designs, PROGRESSIVE DESIGN including his adjustable armchair in 1901, and the chairs for the bar By 1905, after Hoffmann and Moser had deserted of the Cabaret Fledermaus in 1907. The company also specialized in the Secessionists, the Wiener Werkst\u00e4tte became light, durable, and functional bentwood furniture that was perfected the centre of progressive design, employing a host and popularized by Michael Thonet (see p.375). Kohn carried out the of talented artists and designers, including Otto prestigious commission for the bentwood dining chairs made of Prutscher and Michael Powolny. Over 100 people laminated beechwood and decorated with circular motifs, which worked there, including 37 Meister, skilled craftsmen, were designed by Hoffmann in 1904\u201305 for the Purkersdorf and artisans who were given their own individual Sanatorium, Austria\u2019s most marks. The company brochure claimed that all of its fashionable retreat for products were designed by Hoffmann and Moser, and wealthy Viennese. the distinctive objects were celebrated for their level of technical expertise in periodicals such as Deutsche Dark-brown stained beech settle This piece by J. & J. Dark-stained beech table This Kunst und Dekoration and the special summer edition Kohn is made in the style of Josef Hoffmann. Its three table was made by Thonet for of Studio in 1906. splats are each pierced with a rectangular panel of the Cabaret Fledermaus. Its circles, and rise within a triple-arch framework. circular top and base are joined The different interests and skills of the architects c.1906. W:125.5cm (49in). VZ by pairs of turned posts, which and designers produced a style that was are united top and bottom with constantly evolving. Contemporary trends ball brackets. c.1905. in architecture, such as the work of founding member, Josef Hoffmann, who H:101.5cm (40in). QU designed the Palais Stoclet in Brussels and the Purkersdorf Sanatorium, were reflected in furnishings made at the Wiener Werkst\u00e4tte. Furniture had rigorous, well-defined, vertical and horizontal outlines, smooth surfaces, and linear patterns. Geometric shapes, such as open-centred rectangles, spheres, circles, and the \u201cHoffmann square\u201d were used on ceramics, furniture, cutlery, and graphic ornament, and were combined with rich, colourful materials for a luxurious look.","WIENER WERKST\u00c4TTE 377 CABINET BY KOLOMAN MOSER This Die HOFFMANN\u2019S FURNITURE 1880\u20131915 Verwunschenen Prinzessinnen cabinet shows Josef Hoffmann attempted to champion art for the a strong geometric influence and is almost people, with function, quality, and artistic merit his triangular in section, with doors centred by overriding concerns. The furniture he created for the circular lockplates. c.1900. H:171.25cm Wiener Werkst\u00e4tte was primarily made in mahogany, limed oak, and beechwood. (67 1\u20442in); W:53.25cm (21in); 32.75cm (12 3\u20444in). His style was characterized by rectilinear lines BEECHWOOD CHAIR. Designed by Koloman and smooth surfaces stained by Moser for the Purkersdorf Sanatorium\u2019s entry rubbing dye into the wood, a hall, the frame of this geometric chair has bold, technique that highlighted the vertical rungs, with a chequerboard woven seat. grain. Hoffmann\u2019s sophisticated c.1901. H:72cm (281\u20444in); W:66.25cm (26in). designs for chairs, tables, and cabinets, had a formal purity and simplicity, and they were carried out with great craftsmanship. The influence of Charles Rennie Mackintosh (see pp.364\u201365), whose work was highly valued in Vienna, is clear. However, although he was influenced by the elegant, linear style of Mackintosh, Hoffmann emphasized volume in his work more than the line preferred by Mackintosh. His furniture often featured the square and the cube. The simple classicism of the early 19th-century Austrian Biedermeier style also influenced Hoffmann\u2019s designs (see pp.214\u201317). THE IMPORTANCE OF AESTHETICS In spurning what they considered to be second-rate, mass-produced wares, in rejecting the flamboyant, sensuous spirit of the French and Belgian Art Nouveau movements, and by turning their backs on historicism, the Wiener Werkst\u00e4tte movement allied itself with the aims of the English Arts and Crafts designers (see p.330\u201333), who sought to produce simple, well-made household objects. However, unlike their English counterparts, the aims of the Wiener Werkst\u00e4tte designers were primarily aesthetic rather than social, and they designed luxurious goods for a wealthy and discerning clientele. They tried to liberate middle-class taste from mediocrity by bringing fine craftsmanship to the modern interior, and in the process established Vienna as a sophisticated and cosmopolitan European capital that was at the forefront of the Art Nouveau movement. NEST OF BENTWOOD TABLES These four tables are MAHOGANY ARMOIRE This impressive piece has attributed to Josef Hoffman. The sides of the largest two wide doors that are inlaid with exotic woods and table are decorated with a cut-out square design called mother-of-pearl in an elegant geometric design. It the Hoffman square. c.1905. H:74cm (29in); W:55.5cm belongs to a bedroom suite, which also includes a bed and two nightstands. c.1900. W:122cm (48in). FRE (22in); D:42.5cm (163\u20444in).","378 ART NOUVEAU 1880\u20131915 tables ART NOUVEAU DESIGNERS transformed elongated lines, and decorative cut-out NEST OF TABLES the functional table into works of art, motifs such as squares and spheres. with motifs inspired by the natural This nest of four Secessionist, world. A table embellished with In England, tables mirrored historic black-lacquered tables is attributed dragonflies or sculpted leaves, for styles, exotic Japanese or Moorish to Josef Hoffmann. Each table has example, might take on the form of designs, or favoured simple construction a rectangular top with rounded a tree, with its support shaped like and functional, aesthetic design, as seen edges supported by turned, spindle- a trunk, and feet resembling roots. in the work of C.F.A. Voysey and filled supports leading to platform Charles Ashbee. stretchers. The largest of the four Those working in the French and carries two sphere-turned carving Belgian style of Art Nouveau, such In Spain and Italy, tables were often handles. The Japanese influence as Louis Majorelle and Emile Gall\u00e9, incorporated into sofas or other pieces is displayed in both the materials created tables with tapering, sinuous of furniture, or had practical features used and the form of this nest. legs; serpentine-shaped tops; and carved such as built-in cabinets. decoration or marquetry patterns of \u25cfH:77cm (30 3\u20444in). L&T 2 flower blossoms, trees, or fruit. These The Japanese style was popular with were rendered in veneers of precious its simple designs, asymmetric forms, Floral marquetry table top and exotic woods. undulating lines, use of lacquer or lacquer-look-alikes, and a love of The Glasgow School led by Charles nature, often appearing as typical Rennie Mackintosh and other like- Japanese motifs such as dragonflies. minded designers, including Josef Hoffmann and Koloman Moser, Many innovative types of table offered a radical contrast. They appeared, such as the tripod, tier, and favoured tables with rectangular, the nest of tables, while decorative geometric proportions, narrow, features such as the arched stretcher showed how new techniques pushed wood to limits never seen before. Raised edges prevent Brass handles enable items from falling off. the table to be easily moved around the room. The second tier has MARQUETRY TABLE NEST frames with elegant scroll curves at the a moulded edge. bases. Each of the rectangular table tops This nest of four occasional tables was is decorated in marquetry using various designed by Emile Gall\u00e9. They are constructed fruitwoods with a different floral scene. from mahogany and various other hardwoods The largest of the tables bears the signature with high-grade veneer. The tops and side \u201cGall\u00e9\u201d within the marquetry. c.1900. mouldings of the tables are supported by \u25cfH:72.5cm (28 1\u20442in). VZ 3 Sculptural design with BEECH TABLE NEST largest of the tables has handles and trellis W-shaped table sides splats on the sides. Each of the smaller units This nest of four \u201c968\u201d tables is made of slides into place on runners, which store the MARQUETRY TWO-TIER TABLE beech. They were designed by Josef Hoffmann tables in a hanging position. The table nest and produced by J. & J. Kohn of Vienna (see has a mahogany stain and the remains of an This two-tier nutwood and mahogany occasional table by Louis p.376). The tables are raised on slender, tapering original paper label underneath. 1905. Majorelle is of double-framed construction. It has decorative legs, joined on three sides by stretchers. The carving, and each of the two tiers is embellished with floral \u25cfH:75.5cm (29 3\u20444in). QU 3 marquetry. The top tier also has applied brass handles. 1900. \u25cfH:86.5cm (34in); W:59.5cm (23 1\u20442in). VZ 5","CARVED WALNUT TABLE TABLES 379 1880\u20131915 This table, designed by Louis GLASS-TOPPED TEA TABLE Majorelle, is known as les coings, meaning quinces. Constructed This French tea table, from the \u00c9cole from walnut, the tops of the legs de Nancy, is constructed from walnut, and the apron boards carry deep- brass, and glass. It has a tray top with carved decoration depicting a raised edge to prevent items falling quince fruits on the branch. off. Below the tray top is an additional 1905. H:77cm (30 1\u20444in); shelf with fold-down sides. These offer more table space but can be folded \u25cfW:112cm (44in). QU 3 away when not in use. c.1900. \u25cfW:79cm (31 1\u20442in). FRE 2 THREE-TIER TABLE FRETWORK OCCASIONAL TABLE PINE WORKBOX ROSEWOOD STAND This small Austrian bentwood three-tier table This J.S. Henry occasional table has a shaped This stained pine artist\u2019s workbox is from the This rare rosewood and marquetry stand was is designed in the manner of Josef Hoffmann. top above an elaborate fretwork frieze. It is Scottish School. The rectangular top has a twin- designed by Emile Gall\u00e9. The lobed top is It has a rounded square top supported on splayed supported on slender, tapering, cabriole legs hinged lid, which opens to reveal an interior inlaid with floral decoration and butterfly legs. Two undertiers with wooden balls at the with pad feet that are linked by a lower tier. fitted with compartments for materials. The motifs. The four moulded legs are united joints provide additional storage. H:75cm The maker\u2019s label is still attached. H:72cm pegs used for joining are visible at the sides. by an elegant arched stretcher. H:105cm \u25cf(291\u20442in). DN 1 \u25cf(281\u20444in); W:53cm (203\u20444in). L&T 2 \u25cfH:78cm (30 3\u20444in). L&T 2 \u25cf(411\u20442in). CSB 5 HEXAGONAL TABLE GILT SIDE TABLE BRASS FRAMED TABLE TILED OCCASIONAL TABLE Originally sold by Liberty & Co., this hexagonal This opulent, giltwood side table with relief- The elegant brass tripod of this Richard This occasional table is made of oak. The table has a moulded top raised above square, moulded decoration was designed by Louis M\u00fcller-designed table bends towards the circular top features a red and green tiled tapering legs, which are linked by distinctive Majorelle. A mottled-orange marble top is set centre at the top. The plain, circular table top insert in a geometric pattern. The three pierced stretchers halfway up the legs. The within a leaf-and-berry carved slip, with a wavy is made from mahogany. Two triangular tapered supports are pierced with decoration piece terminates in simple, pad feet. H:73cm frieze below. Arched stretchers link the legs. mahogany tiers provide additional storage. in the manner of the Glasgow School. \u25cf(28 3\u20444in). L&T 2 \u25cfH:78cm (30 3\u20444in). MACK 6 \u25cf1902. H:76cm (30in). VZ 3 \u25cfH:61cm (24in). L&T 1","380 ART NOUVEAU 1880\u20131915 case pieces THE CABINET CONTINUED to be one These designers influenced the of the most expensive and impressive design of cabinets in the Art Nouveau pieces of useful furniture in European style in Europe, especially the austere, houses. Both decorative and functional, geometric style favoured in Germany cabinets were used as writing chests, and Austria. for locking away precious jewels, for storing important papers, and for the In contrast, French cabinets display of small, treasured collectables. were more sensuous in their design, with Rococo and Oriental Art Nouveau cabinets were made in elements combined to produce a variety of styles. The Anglo-Japanese asymmetrically shaped pieces, cabinets, such as those designed by decorated with curvilinear plant, E.W. Godwin, were embellished with flower, and vegetable motifs. Louis brass mounts and painted decorations. Majorelle created superbly crafted cabinets of extraordinary luxury, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, C.F.A. in fine-quality woods. These pieces Voysey, and E.W. Gimson combined were often embellished with finely simple designs and an attention to the wrought gilt-bronze or wrought-iron details of fine craftsmanship with mounts, or included decorative inlays the use of rich timbers, such as oak, of mother-of-pearl or metal. walnut, satinwood, and mahogany. Carved circular supports ENGLISH HALLROBE SCOTTISH BOOKCASE are decorated with a twisting tendril The top of this hallrobe supports Classical This oak bookcase by leading furniture-maker, carved panels. The panelled front is adorned Wylie and Lochhead of Glasgow, is in the and root-like design. with stylized copper hinges and handles and style of the Scottish school. The intricate floral the interior is fitted. This piece was made panels are in stained glass and flanked by by the prominent commercial furniture angular, stylized, copper, repouss\u00e9 panels, all manufacturer, Shapland and Petter. above a long drawer and a bottom cabinet. \u25cfc.1905. H:209cm (82in). PUR 4 \u25cfc.1900. H:183cm (72in). PUR 5 The cabinet body is made from walnut with marquetry in exotic hardwoods. The marquetry incorporates floral motifs. FRENCH CABINET opening, surrounded by relief carving. The piece VIENNESE SIDEBOARD Mackintosh. The upper section is enclosed was made by Louis Majorelle. His sinuous and behind glazed doors that form a geometric This elegant cabinet is made of walnut. It is fluid style, evident here, was inspired by This impressive walnut veneer sideboard is by pattern. The mirrored central section is decorated with a marquetry design depicting 18th-century Rococo furniture. c.1900. the school of Josef Hoffmann. The piece is supported by rounded columns. The base has a clematis and a bird, executed in exotic H:170cm (67in); W:71cm (28in). CALD decorated with intarsia. The symmetrical, clean a marble top and contains cupboards and a hardwoods. The top section provides open design is typical of Hoffman and the linear drawer. The plinth and the handles are made storage, which is accessed via a rounded style reveals the influence of Charles Rennie \u25cfof brass. c.1902. H:178.5cm (70in). DOR 5","CASE PIECES 381 1880\u20131915 STAINED-GLASS CABINET DINING ROOM CABINET VENEERED CUPBOARD MUSIC CABINET The straight lines and gentle curves of this This walnut veneer and brass dining room This small, mahogany-veneered cupboard Anglo-Japanese influences are evident in this cabinet are typical of the Glasgow School, as cabinet is part of a set by Otto Wytrlik. The from Austria is raised on four slender legs. mahogany music cabinet decorated with stylized, is the stained-glass window depicting a pastel- matching table, stool, pair of commodes, four The two cupboards, two drawers, and shelves floral, stained-glass panels. The fine, string coloured flower design. The piece has a broad, armchairs, and two further chairs are solid, all have nickel fittings. The distinctive top ebony and boxwood inlay is enriched with projecting cornice, which was a feature of dark pieces with strongly geometric lines, and cupboard has three sides of panelled glass delicate floral carvings. The arched apron many Glasgow School cabinets. W:107cm would have given the room a masculine look. with ornamental silver decoration. c.1900. is reflected in the curved pediment. c.1895. \u25cf(421\u20444in). GDG 5 \u25cfc.1901. WKA 5 \u25cfH:164.5cm (641\u20442in); W:83.5cm (323\u20444in). DOR 3 \u25cfW:125cm (49in). PUR 4 INLAID CABINET MAHOGANY CABINET FLORAL CABINET OAK BOOKCASE This ornate mahogany display cabinet is The shaped, raised back, and moulded finials This mahogany display cabinet, attributed to This bookcase cabinet has a projecting dentil elaborately inlaid in copper, pewter, and of this highly decorative display cabinet have the Scottish designer Ernest Archibald Taylor, cornice above three open compartments, specimen woods with decoration of stylized whiplash-style foliate and floral marquetry has silver-plated repouss\u00e9 decoration on the flanked by pierced decorative brackets. The flower-heads and leafy tendrils. The central inlays. The leaded and stained-glass panel glass. The architectural form is decorated with twin doors, enclosing adjustable shelves, have panel is mirrored and flanked by two glass doors are decorated with a floral design, and a butterfly centrepiece and floral designs in leaded clear glass panels with stained-glass doors opening onto glass shelves. are enclosed by marquetry panels. H:164cm sycamore and tulipwood inlay. c.1903. decoration on the top. H:195cm (76 1\u20442in); \u25cfH:207cm (81 1\u20442in). L&T 4 \u25cf(64in); W:107cm (42in). L&T 3 \u25cfH:175cm (69in). PUR 5 \u25cfW:143cm (56in). L&T 3","1880\u20131915382 ART NOUVEAU working in Germany and Austria, who BENTWOOD CHAIR embraced this more linear approach. CHAIRS This beech chair, made and signed by The French strand of Art Nouveau Austrian manufacturer Thonet, has a WHEN IT CAME TO the chair, Art produced a contrasting style, with its flowing bentwood frame made of bent Nouveau designers let their sinuous, organic, fluid chair designs rods, which curves without the use of imaginations run wild. Designers which were made by Louis Majorelle carving and joints. It has a shaped seat from Glasgow to Nancy used the and Hector Guimard in exotic woods. rail and a reversed, heart-shaped back that chair to illustrate and promote the These were often lavishly decorated sweeps below the seat to form stretchers. Art Nouveau ideal. with intricate inlays, marquetry, and The triangular seat is made of cane, carved botanical motifs on top rails, although it is not original. The chair Breaking free from traditional legs, and aprons. terminates in three legs. c.1900. methods of design and construction, H:81 .5cm (32in); W:62 .5cm (24in); designers experimented with flowing, A taste for the exotic also provided abstract shapes influenced by nature, another decorative and extremely \u25cfD:60cm (23in). Qu 3 and bending or elongating wood into influential outlet in chairs \u2013 from sculptural pieces. Japanese and Moorish-inspired designs to bizarre seat furniture The Scottish architect Charles created by Carlo Bugatti and Antoni Rennie Mackintosh left an indelible Gaudi using a variety of materials. mark on Art Nouveau furniture, Bugatti and Gaudi used imaginative especially with his ground-breaking combinations of wood and metals, chair designs. Well proportioned with embellished with materials such as attenuated backs imparting an almost leather, vellum, and silk. ecclesiastical appearance, his cube- based chairs decorated with geometric The curves on this cut-out patterns were enormously piece were achieved influential, especially on designers using the bentwood technique. ARMCHAIR LAYERED WOOD CHAIR This mahogany armchair has an upholstered This is one of a set of four chairs made in the crest, a slat back and carved arms. The seat style of the early Vienna Secession. The chair is and back panel are upholstered in velvet. The made of cut beechwood and layered wood which slat back forms a back leg and the piece is stained in two shades. The seat is covered in terminates in bun feet. c.1900. H:94cm black leather, but is not original. c.1900. \u25cf(37in). FRE 1 \u25cfH:99cm (391\u20442in). DOR 3 Aluminium nails decorate ARMCHAIR SLAT-BACK ARMCHAIR the replaced leather seat and back. This stained beech and elm chair was probably This Viennese slat-back armchair is constructed made by Wylie & Lochhead of Glasgow. The from veneered and polished nut wood massif. The beech frame is stained curved top rail sits above three splats. The seat The design is accredited to Josef Hoffmann. A the colour of mahogany. is inlaid with boxwood lining. The legs are low, D-shaped stretcher unites the straight legs joined by double stretchers that terminate in near to the base of the chair. c.1905. UPHOLSTERED ARMCHAIR \u25cfupholstered, panelled feet. L&T 1 \u25cfH:86.5cm (34in). DOR 3 This chair is constructed from bent beechwood stained the colour of mahogany. The curved shape was achieved by steaming the wood, then applying even pressure. The prolific architect and founder of the Vienna Secession, J.M. Olbrich, designed this armchair for Thonet of Vienna. \u25cfc.1902. H:76cm (30 1\u20442in). DOR 2","CHAIRS 383 BENTWOOD SIDE CHAIR ARMCHAIR SIDE CHAIR 1880\u20131915 This early J. & J. Kohn side chair was This is one of a pair of mahogany This is one of a pair of side chairs designed by Josef Hoffmann. It has a armchairs designed by J.S. Henry. made of oak. The back of the chair bentwood back and tapering legs, and The tall, upholstered back has has curvilinear rails linking tapering there are four wooden spheres under sinuous leaf finials, curving open uprights above a drop-in seat. the seat rail. The brown leather arms, and an upholstered pad Square-section, tapering legs terminate upholstery is tacked on to the seat. The seat is supported on seat and back, obscuring turned and tapering legs linked \u25cfin pad feet. L&T 1 the stamped mark. by an arched stretcher at the front and straight side \u25cfH:98.5cm (38 3\u20444in). SDR 3 \u25cfstretchers. L&T 3 MARQUETRY ARMCHAIR UPHOLSTERED ARMCHAIR ARMCHAIR CANED-SEAT ARMCHAIR Designed by Louis Majorelle, the back splat This mahogany armchair, designed by G.M. This stained mahogany armchair features This is one of a pair of \u201cModel 511\u201d chairs by of this mahogany armchair is decorated in Ellwood, has a tapering back containing an oval distinctive, wavy, horizontal splats positioned Thonet, constructed from bent beech. The splat marquetry depicting branch and leaf designs. upholstered panel and elegant vertical splats. above and below the rectangular panelled is pierced with holes, with parallel slats below. The chair has moulded \u201cU\u201d-shaped crinoline The piece has open upholstered arms and an back. The downswept, open arms and The back continues in a curve down to the feet. arms that have distinctive duck\u2019s-head terminals. upholstered seat. The legs terminate in tassle- upholstered panel seat are raised on turned, The seat is made of woven caning. c.1904. \u25cfThe seat is upholstered in velvet. MACK 6 \u25cfcarved feet. L&T 3 \u25cftapered legs. L&T 1 \u25cf104.5cm (411\u20444in). HERR 3 DESK CHAIR OPEN ARMCHAIR CURVED DESK CHAIR ARMCHAIR This mahogany desk chair by Louis Majorelle This carved walnut armchair designed by This Louis Majorelle carved mahogany desk This armchair was designed by Josef Maria has open arms featuring galleries of tapered Henri Rapin has a wing back and bold scrolling chair (part of a desk set) has moulded arms Olbrich and made by Josef Niedermoser of spindles. Red-leather upholstery on the back terminals. The tapering legs lead to splayed leading into sweeping, reverse-curved supports. Vienna. The frame is black-varnished maple, and seat is fixed to the frame with studs. The spade feet. The heavily patterned upholstery The chair has a distinctive, low upholstered the chair is upholstered with yellow leather twisted form of the legs emphasizes the sinuous, is not original. 1910. H:77.5cm (301\u20442in); back. The front legs are cabriole in shape. covers, and the feet are metal. 1898\u201399. \u25cffeminine design. MACK 7 \u25cfW:56cm (22in). CAL 5 \u25cfc.1903. H:80cm (31in). CSB 8 \u25cfH:81.5cm (32in); W: 58cm (223\u20444in). QU 3","","191A9rt-d1ec9o40","1919\u20131940386 ART DECO from boom to bust Originating in france, the art Deco style blossomed in the united states, mirroring the mood of liberation and fantasy that permeated a fragile but brave new world. AS THE WORLD EMERGED from the shadow of American roads rose from half a million in 1914 in New York, were World War I, the rhythms of jazz and the fantasy to 26 million in 1929, one for every five of the world of Hollywood captured the imagination of population. By 1929, two-thirds of Americans the most striking people eager to celebrate liberation. A colourful had electricity, and sales of electrical goods cocktail of wit, fantasy, new materials, and rocketed. Movie palaces, dancehalls, sports embodiment of luxury, Art Deco in both its \u201chigh\u201d French style stadiums, and luxury hotels sprang up as the and its \u201cstreamlined\u201d American mode fitted the leisure industries flourished. Both the artefacts growing prosperity. mood. Alongside Bauhaus, it was the prevailing and the architecture exhibited the Art Deco decorative style for furniture, sculpture, ceramics, style: geometric shapes inspired by the Cubist But the 1920s\u2019 metalwork, and glass, as well as architecture and movement together with a range of exotic, interior design, throughout the 1920s and 30s. stylized floral, and folk motifs. boom was fuelled English two-tier table This Art Deco by easy credit and occasional table is constructed speculation. By 1929 from chrome and laminate, and share prices had lost mounted on a circular walnut base. c.1928. H:75cm (291\u20442in); W:36cm (141\u20444in); D:36cm (141\u20444in). JK any relationship to real values. When the Wall Street crash came in October 1929 thousands of investors lost their NEW LUXURY STREAMLINED TRAVEL shirts. The United States entered the Great Producing luxuries for the masses now became Travel became faster and more luxurious, the central activity of the economy, especially whether on ocean liners such as the Normandie, Depression with unemployment shooting up to in the United States. The number of cars on airships such as the Graf Zeppelin, or trains drawn by streamlined engines such as the 14 million over the next three years. The New Mallard. Not only was Art Deco the style for luxury transport interiors, but the principles Deal, introduced by President Franklin D. of aerodynamic design were reflected in the Art Deco taste for streamlined forms. New, Roosevelt in 1933, restored a little optimism, light-reflecting materials, such as tubular steel, chrome, and mirror glass were adopted, but the climate was turbulent. especially in the bars, dance halls, and cinemas. The American economic slump brought mass In economics and politics, the year 1929 marked a fault line dividing the interwar years unemployment and financial crisis to Europe in in two. The 1920s were boom years for the American economy. Skyscrapers, such as the the early 1930s. Germany\u2019s fragile democracy Chrysler building and the Empire State building disintegrated and in 1933 Adolf Hitler was appointed German chancellor. This, and aggressive regimes in Japan and Italy, led to a second global conflict. Yet progress did not end just because boom turned to bust, and Art Deco held its own well into the 1930s. The movement encapsulated both the period\u2019s technological progress and a form of escapism from the mounting political Office and factory for the Hoover company This 1933 landmark and economic troubles. Eventually, however, London building by architects Wallis, Gilbert, and Partners has an American-style glazed Art Deco fa\u00e7ade and a striking, brightly Art Deco was superseded by Modernism with coloured, Egyptian-style faience over its entrance. its focus on functionalism and the machine. TIMELINE 1919\u20131940 1919 The Treaty of Versailles is imposed Hyperinflation in Germany brings about the collapse of the German economy. The Bauhaus School was founded at Weimar in on Germany by the Allied Powers. 1919 by Walter Gropius. He promoted a new 1924 The fashion illustrator Ert\u00e9 functional style of architecture. 1920 Cecil B. De Mille brings French The Nazi regime becomes head of the Art Department closed the School designer Paul Iribe to Hollywood to design at Hollywood\u2019s MGM studio. in 1933. the sets and costumes for the historical film drama The Affairs of Anatol. 1925 The Exposition Internationale des The Charleston dance The flapper-girl style epitomized 1922 Tutankhamen\u2019s tomb and treasures the hedonistic jazz age. Independent and irreverent, Arts D\u00e9coratifs et Industriels Modernes, flapper girls wore make-up, dispensed with corsets, which was originally planned for 1915, is are discovered by Howard Carter in the Valley and delighted in risqu\u00e9 behaviour. held in Paris. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott of the Kings, Luxor, Egypt. Fitzgerald, The Trial by Franz Kafka, and Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler are published. 1923 The first UK to US wireless broadcast takes place between London and New York.","This Art Deco torch\u00e8re has a twisted wooden shaft painted a creamy yellow, and topped with a stepped brass lamp shade. H:107cm (67in). FRE The interior of the entrance hall of Eltham Palace The interior was commissioned from Swedish designer Rolf Engstr\u00f6mer. It is completely lined with Australian blackbean veneer with marquetry panels by the Swedish artist Jerk Werkm\u00e4ster. The colours of the large circular rug by Marion Dorn reflect the tones of the marquetry panels. The hall is bathed in light, which floods through the concrete, glass-domed roof. 1930s. 1926 John Logie Baird invents television. Street crashes, precipitating the Great 1933 Radio City Music Hall is built The Normandie This French 1928 The Graf Zeppelin makes the first Depression of the 1930s. luxury ocean liner was in New York by Donald Deskey and launched in 1932. Its transatlantic flight. 1930 The Chrysler Building, in New Associated Architects. interiors were designed in the \u201chigh-style\u201d Art Deco. 1929 The New York York is completed in May. Designed 1934 MOMA holds the Machine Age by William Van Alen, it is the Ginger Rogers and Fred Stock Market on Wall world\u2019s tallest man-made exhibition, marking the mid-point of the Astaire, is released, structure until the Industrial Design movement in the US. together with the Marx Blacked-up actor Al Jolson completion of the Empire Brothers\u2019 A Night at starred in the first movie with 1935 Bluebird, driven by Malcolm the Opera. sound \u2013 The Jazz Singer \u2013 State Building a year later. which premiered in 1927. Campbell, reaches 480kmh 1939 Hitler invades 1932 Brave New World by (300mph). The film Top Hat with Poland on 1 September, starting World War II Aldous Huxley is published. The Chrysler Building The dramatic in Europe. use of stainless-steel sunbursts symbolized the march of progress.","388 ART DECO ART DECO FURNITURE 1919\u20131940 IN THE YEARS FOLLOWING World War I, furniture 20s and 30s was published. He defined two main designers followed two distinct courses \u2013 one was strands of Art Deco: \u201cThe feminine, somewhat Folding screen This French, four-panelled folding screen is an founded on tradition \u2013 Art Deco \u2013 and the other\u2019s conservative style of 1925, chic, elegant, depending exquisite example of Art Deco design. Either side of each panel driving force was functionalism \u2013 Modernism. on exquisite craftsmanship and harking back to the has rosewood and fruitwood parquetry surfaces in different geometric 18th century; and the masculine reaction of the 30s, designs. H:185cm (73in). CSB Much of the most sophisticated Art Deco furniture with its machine-age symbolism and use of new created was shown at the Exposition Internationale des materials like chrome and plastics.\u201d born Californian designer K.E.M. Weber. In the Arts D\u00e9coratifs et Industriels Modernes, which opened land of the automobile, the influence of car styling in Paris in the spring of 1925. Originally planned for TRADITIONAL ART DECO became increasingly strong in American Art Deco 1915, but postponed because of World War I, the Traditional Art Deco evolved out of Art Nouveau furniture designs. Known as Streamlined Moderne, Exhibition reflected a pre-war aesthetic and embodied and was born in France. Designers following this slick torpedo-style curving was used on a huge range the desire of France to reestablish itself as the centre path subdued the flowing lines and naturalistic of objects, from radios to desks. for the production of stylish luxury goods. Although decoration characteristic of Art Nouveau to create the term \u201cArt Deco\u201d is derived from the title of this a more restrained, geometric style of furniture with The Art Deco fountain and chevron motifs were Exhibition, it was not actually used to identify a style graceful proportions and stylized motifs. seen repeatedly in the escapist Hollywood movies of until 1968 when Bevis Hillier\u2019s book Art Deco of the the 1930s, with their backdrops of luxury Art Deco- Furniture-makers, such as \u00c9mile-Jacques Ruhlmann styled hotels, night clubs, skyscrapers, and ocean Skyscraper vanity unit (see p.393) and Paul Follot (1877\u20131941), favoured liners. Such films did much to advertise the American The thick dark lines the use of luxurious materials to enhance simple, Art Deco style to the world, and to link it forever on this vanity unit stylized, and abstract forms. Exotic woods with with ideas of fantasy, glamour, and sexual liberation. emphasize the stylized distinctive markings and decorative grains \u2013 macassar geometric forms that ebony, burr walnut, and sycamore \u2013 created rich, characterize Art Deco lustrous veneers. Unusual materials, including style. The mirror lacquer, ivory, and shagreen (imitation sharkskin), towers over the were used for marquetry and inlays. Decorative wooden structure, motifs employed included baskets of stylized flowers recalling the and geometric sunbursts. The hard surfaces of highly silhouettes of polished woods were often juxtaposed with brightly Manhattan\u2019s tallest coloured and richly decorated upholstery. buildings. 1930s. H:155cm (61in). MODERNIST ART DECO Many American designers were inspired by the flamboyance of French Art Deco. Using new materials, such as Bakelite and aluminium, designers, such as Donald Deskey, who designed the interior of Radio City Music Hall in New York, mixed the French Art Deco style with elements of the more functional, rectilinear Bauhaus style, to create a Modernist form of Art Deco. Paul Fuller\u2019s iconic Wurlitzer jukebox designs, with their use of brightly coloured plastic, geometric grille, chromium-plate, and dramatic lighting, also combined French style with new-found technology. Specifically American references, such as the skyscraper motif, appeared in the Deco-inspired furniture of the Viennese-born New York designer Paul T. Frankl and the German- COCKTAIL CABINETS fitted with lights, and lined with mirror glass. Far from its original intention as a piece of furniture With the introduction, in the 1920s, of a new designed for writing, the cocktail cabinet added a social pastime \u2013 the cocktail party \u2013 a new piece of more frivolous and decadent note to the fashionable furniture was created, inspired by the 18th-century interior that chimed with the contemporary taste for sideboard with its ice drawers and fitted decanter luxury and glamour, which persisted throughout the cabinets. Intended for storing all the accoutrements Jazz Age and the Great Depression. associated with the making of cocktails, the cocktail cabinet contained fitted shelves and bottle holders. Cocktail cabinet This semi-circular cabinet in walnut, supported by It often took the external form of a traditional tapering legs, was designed by H&L Epstein. The cabinet opens to writing desk, while its modern interior was reveal a mirrored, shelved bar. Manufacturers at the upper end of the frequently a flamboyant, conversation-making piece market concentrated on these high-quality veneered pieces. 1930s. of furniture veneered with a host of exotic woods, H:162.5.cm (64in). JAZ","TRADITION AND LUXURY by designers of the Art Deco period. The form of ART DECO FURNITURE 389 1919\u20131940 these Art Deco suites often echoed the architectural Designers working in the traditional, sophisticated structure and panelling of a room, as had been the century tradition and the taste for luxury. The rich Art Deco style that developed in Paris and became case in the 18th century. colour of the burr wood with its distinctive markings fashionable during the 1920s and 30s frequently looked is enhanced by the sumptuous, cream-coloured leather back to the 18th century for inspiration. This basis for The purity of shape, harmonious proportions, upholstery, while the Art Deco desire for comfort and their work can be seen in the design of the chairs below, refined decoration, and use of lavish materials that simplicity is underscored by the generous proportions which boast curving, wooden frames that recall the characterized the furniture created by the celebrated and graceful form of the \u201cCloud\u201d design. serpentine shapes often found in Rococo furniture. With French \u00e9b\u00e9nistes of the late 18th century, such as outlines reminiscent of 18th-century French berg\u00e8res, Jean-Henri Riesener and Jean-Fran\u00e7ois Leleu, also Parlour suite This three-piece parlour suite consists of a sofa and these chairs form part of a three-piece parlour suite. characterized the furniture of the craftsmen creating two armchairs. The sofa and armchairs are encased in a bentwood pieces in the fashionable \u201chigh style\u201d of French Art shell terminating in moulded feet set on casters. The pieces are Suites of matching furniture, such as a sofa, two Deco. These sumptuous armchairs reflect the 18th- all upholstered in cream leather in the curvaceous \u201cCloud\u201d design. chairs, and a cabinet, created to fit in with the overall W:76cm (30in). FRE interior decorative scheme of a room, were favoured The richness of the wood is The ample proportions and harmonious heightened by the contrasting, lines underscore the simple beauty luxurious, cream-coloured and emphasis on comfort that were leather upholstery. hallmarks of the Art Deco style. The curving bentwood shell recalls the shape of an 18th- century French berg\u00e8re. The shape of the chair embodies the luxury of the period, implied by the idea of lounging on a cloud. The undulating wooden frame looks back to the serpentine shapes of the 18th-century French Rococo style. The feet of the chairs have Burr wood of maple or ash were casters so the chairs can be among the woods favoured by easily moved about the room. Art Deco furniture-makers.","390 ART DECO ELEMENTS OF STYLE 1919\u20131940 There is a host of distinctive features associated today with the Art Deco style. Every branch of the decorative arts \u2013 Geometric design on a wool rug Table edge with geometric ivory banding from furniture and textiles to ceramics and metalware \u2013 was affected by the fashion for exotic materials and handcrafted Geometric textiles Ivory inlay techniques, a continuation of the sumptuous Art Nouveau style of the late 19th century. Designers drew on a wide The decorative designs featured on Ivory inlays were frequently used to range of ornamental motifs, from folk art and stylized baskets carpets, fabrics, and tapestries were embellish cabinets, tables, and chairs. of fruit to Egyptian-style motifs and patterns inspired by the frequently inspired by the flat exotic The pure white colour formed a rich treasures discovered in 1922 in Tutankhamen\u2019s tomb. patterns and geometric motifs drawn contrast to the warm, lustrous tones of from Africa, the Orient, Cubism, and mahogany and macassar ebony wood Rectilinear shapes and geometric folk art. Dynamic geometric schemes veneers. Ivory was often used to designs reminiscent of African for upholstery, curtains, and rugs were enhance the drawer pulls of a cabinet, tribal art and Cubist paintings often made up of overlapping blocks the elegant outlines of a chair leg, or were also a key element of Art of colour or abstract patterns of squares, the edge of a table top with delicate Deco. This aspect of the style zigzags, chevrons, and triangles. geometric banding. recalled the work of the Wiener Werkst\u00e4tte (see pp.376\u201377). Walnut continental headboard Close-up of bird\u2019s-eye maple surface Armrest carved with leaves Multi-purpose designs Bird\u2019s-eye maple Low-relief carving For designers and decorators working A timber native to northern Europe, Following on from Art Nouveau, in the Art Deco style, the objective was Canada, and the United States, bird\u2019s- designers used hand carving to create to create simple, uncluttered interiors. eye maple is a variety of maple. Its sumptuous, richly decorated furniture. This aim was realized with built-in light brown markings consist of rings The crests of cabinets, the rails or arms furniture, such as wardrobes and that resemble the eyes of a bird. It of chairs, and the aprons of tables were washstands, and with multi-purpose was a fashionable veneer for furniture often carved in shallow, low relief with pieces, such as a sofa that incorporated during the late 18th century, and stylized patterns of berries, leaves, a table, or a headboard with side found favour once again in the 1920s flower bouquets, or garlands of fruits cupboards and a lampstand. with furniture designers working in and plants, or curving spirals, tassels, the French Art Deco style. sunbursts, and beading.","ELEMENTS OF STYLE 391 1919\u20131940 Dressing table with floral marquetry design Etched, glazed cupboard doors Table top featuring verre \u00e9glomis\u00e9 Veneered table top in geometric design Floral marquetry Decorative glass Verre \u00e9glomis\u00e9 Veneering Of all the decorative motifs found on Glass played a key part in Art Deco The technique known as verre \u00e9glomis\u00e9 The fashion for veneered furniture Art Deco furniture, it is flowers that furniture. Massive, architectural is one in which the back of a glass especially favoured by cabinet-makers dominate. Stylized flower designs cabinets made from rare and lustrous panel is painted with a layer of gold working in the Art Nouveau style reminiscent of the pre-World War I woods were often lightened by fitted or silver leaf, which is then engraved before World War I, was also widely Art Nouveau style were adopted for panels made of plain or coloured glass. and covered with a protective film of employed by Art Deco furniture marquetry veneers by artisans working These were frequently pressed or varnish or glass. Furniture designers designers. Thin layers of colourful with both luxurious and more modest etched with designs featuring stylized of the 1920s and 30s often embellished and precious woods were arranged in materials. The motifs were often less geometric patterns of sunbursts, their pieces by setting glass panels a broad range of decorative patterns, flamboyant than those used previously, triangles, chevrons, or flower baskets, enriched with verre \u00e9glomis\u00e9 into from naturalistic flower sprays to or even severely geometric in taste. garlands, and foliage. tables, cabinets, and cupboards. abstract, geometric designs. Rosewood crossbanding Lacquered table with stylized design Base of a side table Stylized acorn back splat Rosewood inlays Lacquerware Geometric forms Decorative splats Rosewood was widely used for Jean Dunand, Eileen Gray, and Many Art Deco designers favoured The central vertical panel of an open- decorative crossbanding on Art Maurice Jallot made their furniture geometric forms. Emile-Jacques backed chair has traditionally been Deco furniture. An evenly grained more opulent with inlaid lacquer Ruhlmann was influenced by the used as a canvas for decorative hardwood, ranging in colour from panels. Screens, chairs, tables, and rectilinear, Neoclassical shapes of the designs. Many Art Deco chairs were light hazel to reddish-brown, it forms cabinets were also sometimes made late 18th century in the design of his made from rich timbers and boasted a subtle but decorative counterpoint entirely of glossy black or brightly cabinets, cupboards, and writing desks. splats featuring carved motifs of to contrasting timbers when thin strips coloured lacquer, featuring stylized American designers, such as Donald stylized arrangements of foliage, are cut across the grain and inlaid flowers, exotic animals, and abstract Deskey, were inspired by the geometric fountains, baskets of flowers or fruit, along the edge of a drawer, table top, geometric motifs recalling sumptuous forms of the Industrial age and the drapery, or, alternatively, patterns panel, or cabinet door. 18th-century French designs. designers associated with Bauhaus. of geometric shapes.","392 ART DECO 1919\u20131940 1925 PARIS EXHIBITION the paris EXPOSITION INTERNATIONALE DES ARTS D\u00c9CORATIFS ET INDUSTRIELS MODERNES of 1925 marked a defining moment for what was identified in the 1960s as art deco style. ORIGINALLY PLANNED FOR 1915 in response to ROBERT BONFILS\u2019S POSTER FOR THE PARIS EXHIBITION Germany\u2019s growing international commercial success, This poster shows some of the key characteristics of Art Deco. the Exposition Internationale des Arts D\u00e9coratifs et The stylized basket of flowers is reminiscent of much Art Deco Industriels Modernes was postponed when World War inlay work and the female figure and antelope were often used I broke out in 1914. When the Exhibition finally in metalwork as a symbol of speed. opened its doors in April 1925, its main aim was to reassert France\u2019s position as the world\u2019s arbiter of ROSEWOOD AND MAHOGANY SECR\u00c9TAIRE taste and the unrivalled centre for the production This secr\u00e9taire by L\u00e9on Jallot has a bow-fronted case with a of luxury goods. It also hoped to persuade French fall front and a sycamore interior. It has mirror-cut, mahogany manufacturers to embrace the \u201cmodern\u201d, and work crotch veneers, slightly splayed legs, and a hand-incised with decorative artists to produce artefacts of \u201creal signature on the back. H:114cm (45in); W:88cm (341\u20442in). CAL originality\u201d. As a result, the Exhibition gave a new generation of decorative artists, as well as those already well established, an opportunity to exhibit their work. LUXURIOUS \u201cGOOD TASTE\u201d BERG\u00c8RE Most European countries took part in the exhibition, This rare Paul Follot armchair, one of a although Germany was conspicuously absent, and pair, has an arched, ribbed, upholstered the French section took up two-thirds of the 23- back above a U-shaped seat rail, and hectare (55-acre) site. The United States also declined scroll arm terminals. The tapering feet to participate, as its Secretary of Commerce, Herbert are ebonized and fluted. c.1920. Hoover, believed that it would be impossible to meet the entry requirements laid out in the Exhibition\u2019s H:81.25cm (32in); W:51cm (20in). CAL charter, which stated that displays should make no reference to past styles and called for examples of COFFEE TABLE \u201cnew and original inspiration\u201d that personified the This mahogany table by Rosel has modern lifestyle. In fact, this prerequisite was not carved, semicircular legs and feet, fulfilled by the majority of the exhibits, which which support a glass top. The racks reflected a pre-war aesthetic and a within the construction of the crossbar continuation of the Art Nouveau and post are made of ebony with mother- style. None the less, the of-pearl applications. c.1925. H:65cm Exhibition was considered by most to be a resounding success, (251\u20442in); W:76cm (30in); D:76cm (30in). QU drawing 16 million visitors from around the globe. A large part of the French section was composed of pavilions exhibiting the work of eminent, established French designers, such as the furniture designer \u00c9mile- Jacques Ruhlmann and the glass- maker Ren\u00e9 Lalique. Whole interiors and room sets were also on display, showing furniture, textiles, carpets, and other household wares in harmonizing styles. These were presented by the design studios of the major Parisian department stores \u2013 Primavera at Printemps, La Ma\u00eetrise at Galeries Lafayette, directed by Maurice Dufrene (1876\u20131955), and Pomone at Au Bon March\u00e9. These extravagant displays were set against the backdrop of the Eiffel Tower, which was transformed into an ultra-modern advertisement","\u00e9mile-Jacques ruhlmann (1879\u20131933) 1925 PARIS EXHIBITION 393 1919\u20131940 RUHLMANN\u2019S WORK REPRESENTS THE FINEST EXPRESSION OF ART DECO, AND THE MOST SUMPTUOUS for Citro\u00ebn cars. Most exhibits conformed to an AND ACCOMPLISHED PIECES PRODUCED IN FRANCE DURING THE 1920S AND EARLY 1930S. \u201cofficial taste\u201d, with adaptations of historical or traditional styles lavishly ornamented with a host of Born in Paris in 1879 from his workmen for the simple and elegant cabinets, motifs, including stylized flowers, figures, and animals, writing desks, dressing tables, and chairs he designed. and geometric patterns, such as zigzags and chevrons. to Alsatian parents, Early pieces tended to be delicate with slender, tapering legs, while later pieces were sturdier. Ruhlmann used Nowhere was this tendency more in evidence than Ruhlmann first exhibited the rarest and most exquisite materials, such as veneers in Ruhlmann\u2019s majestic pavilion, the H\u00f4tel d\u2019un of palisander, macassar ebony, burr walnut, Cuban Collectionneur. Ruhlmann was responsible for the his work at the 1913 Salon mahogany, and amaranth. These were enriched with overall design of the interiors of this pavilion, which tortoiseshell, silver, horn, or ivory inlays, featuring featured work by several of his preferred designers d\u2019Automne, and continued stylized flower baskets, garlands, or geometric motifs, and craftsmen. Within it, Andr\u00e9 Groult\u2019s (1884\u20131967) or embellished with leather, parchment, or sharkskin Chambre de Madame contained chairs inspired by to produce lavish designs panelling. Drawer pulls sometimes featured elegant silk 18th-century designs and wall-coverings in bold and tassels, and fabrics were often designed specially for colourful patterns. Veneered with pale green sharkskin, throughout the war before individual pieces of furniture. Exorbitant the sumptuous suite of elegant furniture brought to prices did nothing to deter mind the sinuous lines of Art Nouveau. Jean Dunand\u2019s establishing a partnership demand for his work, (1877\u20131942) Fumoir featured streamlined black and as owning a piece of silver lacquered furniture together with brightly in 1919 with Pierre Ruhlmann furniture was coloured screens and fabrics inspired by African art. a huge status symbol. Ruhlmann Laurent in Paris: Les CONTRASTING MODERNIST STYLE These lavish examples of what later became known \u00c9tablissements Ruhlmann et Laurent. Ruhlmann\u2019s as \u201chigh-style\u201d Art Deco were in marked contrast to the few displays mounted by Modernist designers. At reputation as a furniture-maker par excellence was the pavilion L\u2019Esprit Nouveau, for example, the Swiss- born architect Le Corbusier (see pp.432\u201333) promoted sealed by his extravagant display at the 1925 Paris his vision of minimalist architecture and affordable furnishings for the middle classes. Although this Exhibition. His deluxe furniture \u2013 which was aimed at style made a powerful impression, it was not until the 1930s that its influence really began to be felt. a sophisticated and very wealthy clientele \u2013 was CONSOLE TABLE inspired by the work of the finest 18th-century French Designed by Raymond Subes, this wrought-iron table has a demi-lune top above scrolling supports on a curved solid base. \u00e9b\u00e9nistes, such as Jean-Henri Riesener. Rulhmann The scrolling supports and stepped geometric decoration are typical of Art Deco design. H:100.5cm (391\u20442in); W:128cm (501\u20443in). insisted upon the highest standards of craftsmanship Table with rotating top Armchair This unsigned Ruhlmann armchair is made of This elegant circular table, burr amboyna with ebony detailing, gilt metal sabots, signed by Ruhlmann, is made and brown velvet upholstery. It appears to be the first from amboyna and ivory. Its model of the macassar ebony and ivory chair that rotating circular top rests on Ruhlmann designed for Jacques Doucet in 1913. a central support decorated c.1913. H:100.5cm (391\u20443in); W:68.5cm (27in). DEL with stepped geometric panels and an arching base. Like many of Ruhlmann\u2019s pieces, the exotic wood veneer is the main form of decoration. c.1929. W:74.5cm (291\u20443in). DEL Rosewood cabinet This signed demi-lune cabinet by Ruhlmann has a pull-out shelf above a central recess and drawer carved in medium relief. The two curved side doors are inlaid with ivory and the whole cabinet is raised upon fluted spindle legs. c.1919. W:129cm (503\u20444in). DEL","394 ART DECO 1919\u20131940 France FRANCE, ESPECIALLY PARIS, was the hub Compagnie des Arts Fran\u00e7ais \u2013 sought of the lavish, or \u201chigh-style\u201d, strain of inspiration from the opulent furniture Art Deco. The sumptuous, graceful crafted by the fine cabinet-makers of furniture that was created in the 1920s the 18th century, such as Jean-Henri by \u00c9mile-Jacques Ruhlmann (see p.393) Riesener and Adam Weisweiler. set the tone for this version of the style. Ruhlmann and his associates DUAL INSPIRATION were also influenced by Art Nouveau Using a host of exotic woods for (1880\u20131910). They took the sinuous decorative veneers, and embellishments lines, organic forms, and naturalistic made of colourful and expensive motifs of that movement and restrained materials, ranging from ivory to and stylized them, giving their pieces lacquer and from leather to sharkskin, a more geometric form. Their Ruhlmann and his colleagues \u2013 who included Paul Follot, Andr\u00e9 Groult, Wrought-iron gates designed by Edgar Brandt Jules Leleu, L\u00e9on-Albert Jallot, and The stylized water fountain of these fine gates has Louis S\u00fce and Andr\u00e9 Mare at the swirling stems of leaves and pierced flowers, and vines run along the bottom. c.1924. H:129 .5cm (51in). SDR The veneered table top has a radiating geometric pattern. DEMI-LUNE SIDE TABLE This Louis S\u00fce and Andr\u00e9 Mare bird\u2019s-eye maple and mahogany demi-lune table has a broad crossbanded top above a thumb- moulded edge and a single frieze drawer. The table is supported on cabriole legs. H:79cm (31in); W:122cm (48in). CAL The S-scroll legs terminate in geometric scrolls. The table base is decorated with as, seen from above, they create a subtle, radiating geometric AMBOYNA CABINET a carved rope-twist design. pattern. The moulded block feet are carved and support a small circular level with a carved rope design around the outer edge. This amboyna cabinet has two central doors flanked by five CENTRE TABLE A centre table was designed to be primarily ornamental rather small drawers on each side, each of which is decorated with than functional \u2013 to furnish the space in the middle of the room ivory handles and inlay. The cabinet was designed and stamped This centre table, designed by Maurice Dufrene, has a veneered where it would also be the centre of attention. c.1925. H:68.5cm by Paul Follot, and its symmetry and restrained style typify the table top supported by ornately moulded S-scroll legs. The table (27in); D:91.5cm (36in). MOD elegant French Art Deco style. c.1925. W:153cm (60 1\u20444in). top is made from several different pieces of wood, which meet at the centre of the table. The contrasting patterns and textures of the woods used form the main decorative feature of the table","FRANCE 395 exquisitely crafted Art Deco cabinets, signature Art Deco motifs, such as often combined with other luxurious Jallots, slowly began to adapt to the 1919\u20131940 tables, and writing desks were much stylized garlands or baskets of flowers. materials, such as tortoiseshell, eggshell, changes brought about by both the coveted by an exclusive and wealthy S\u00fce and Mare created luxurious, animal skins, and metal, to create a machine age and the introduction to clientele who sought status. Their theatrical furniture in the Louis- rather dramatic impression. Legrain furniture design of new materials, such work was extensively displayed at the Philippe style, and the decorating firm was one of several designers inspired as metal and glass. As a result, their 1925 Paris Exhibition (see pp.392\u201393), of Dominique produced stylish and by African art. later Art Deco designs are distinctly bringing it to the attention of a much sophisticated furniture in woods such more Modernist in appearance They wider public. as ebony and sycamore, upholstered TOWARDS MODERNISM set the stage for the Modernist furniture in colourful silks, leather, and velvet. After 1925, some of the most committed created by designers such as Pierre LUXURIOUS MATERIALS French traditionalists, such as the Chareau and Francis Jourdain. Jallot \u2013 who worked with his son The most exotic form of French Art Maurice \u2013 and Leleu favoured a rich Deco was realized in the innovative palette of warm woods, such as walnut, furniture created by Eileen Gray, Jean palisander, and amboyna, enhanced Dunand, and Pierre Legrain. Both Gray with understated marquetry created and Dunand exploited the popularity with ivory, eggshell, shagreen, or of Oriental art by creating distinctive mother-of-pearl. This often featured lacquered screens, tables, cabinets, and chairs, in which the lacquer was GILT-METAL TABLE MACASSAR CHAIR SOLID ROSEWOOD OFFICE CHAIR This table by Ren\u00e9 Prou is rectangular in shape and has elegant This luxurious ebony and rosewood macassar chair, designed by This rare Edgar Brandt chair was one of a set designed for Brandt\u2019s cabriole legs reminiscent of the early 18th-century Rococo style. Paul Follot, is one of a set of four. Each chair has a stylized own offices. The arched high back extends above boldly scrolling The table is made of gilt metal and has a decorative pierced frieze acorn back within a \u201ctheatre drape curtain\u201d arched back, carved J-shaped arms. The tapering legs terminate in gilt sabots. c.1932. of linked circles below the table top. c.1937. GYG by Laurent Malcles. H:81.25cm (32in); W:51cm (20in). CAL H:110.5cm (43 1\u20442in); W:68 .5cm (27in). CAL BUTTON-BACKED CHAIR One of a pair of square button- backed chairs by Marc du Plantier, this chair has square- section legs at the front and sabre legs at the back. The legs are made from painted wood and terminate in parchment sabots. The chair is newly upholstered in calfskin. c.1935. GYG TABLE BAR LOW ROSEWOOD STOOL This Jules Leleu sycamore and mahogany table bar has a This low stool is made of rosewood embellished with zebrano rectangular top above a rectangular section column. The fall banding. The seat cushion is upholstered in a fabric that is front encloses a bar compartment with a single drawer below, typical of an Art Deco printed pattern, with overlapping geometric located in the column. Its interior is veneered in contrasting shapes, inspired by abstract art. c.1928. H:35cm (14in); mahogany. H:61cm (24in); W:85cm (331\u20442in). CAL W:46cm (18in). JAZ","396 ART DECO 1919\u20131940 the united states ALTHOUGH THE UNITED STATES did not \u201ca parallel movement\u201d in the United their clean lines and restrained, Werkst\u00e4tte in their designs. Instead participate in the 1925 Paris Exhibition, States by mounting the tour. stylized decoration, and his cabinet- of producing expensive luxury pieces, the Exhibition was still hugely making was of the highest quality. they created well-crafted, functional influential there. Many American New York department stores, such pieces that could be mass produced. designers, including Eugene Schoen, as Lord & Taylor and R.H. Macy A NEW DIRECTION visited it, and it was covered by Company, also helped to publicize A parallel Art Deco movement did Donald Deskey, the principal interior American newspapers and magazines. the Art Deco style by putting on blossom in the United States, but it designer for New York City\u2019s Radio Also, the following year, a tour of exhibitions in the late 1920s of Art developed along different lines to those City Music Hall, created dramatic, more than 400 objects that had been Deco furniture by leading Parisian of Europe. A handful of innovative highly charged furniture. It combined displayed in Paris was organized by designers. Eugene Schoen emulated designers, such as Paul Frankl, the luxurious elements of French Art Charles Richards, director of the his French contemporaries by creating K.E.M. Weber, and Josef Urban, who Deco with the more functional and American Association of Museums. pieces in rare and exotic woods, had been born in Europe, combined the rectilinear features of the Bauhaus He had been impressed by the incorporating marquetry and inlays, French Art Deco style with those of style, which made full use of the latest Exhibition and hoped to initiate coloured lacquers, and subtle carvings. the Bauhaus (see p.386) and the Wiener technology. Deskey used the rare His forms were architectural, with woods, lacquer, and glass loved by Screens with two or three panels were popular with Art Deco furniture designers. The stylized zebras are painted in black and tan on an ivory ground. CHINA CABINET This simple, rectilinear cabinet was designed by Paul Frankl. The limed, slate- grey base and case of the lower section provide a striking contrast to the three ivory doors with semi-circular brass pulls. On top of this is is an unadorned china cabinet with a limed ivory finish. The three shelves of the cabinet are enclosed by two sliding glass doors. W:183cm (72in). DRA Signed and dated Robert W Chanler 1928. PAINTED SCREEN The screen is signed and dated in the lower right MAPLE DESK corner. Chanler\u2019s screens were greatly admired, and This dramatic, three-panelled wooden screen by Robert this example was commissioned by the Broadway Eugene Schoen designed this maple desk for Schieg Winthrop Chanler features two zebras locked in combat, composer Kay Swift and her husband. Screens were Hungate and Kotzian. The heavy rectangular desktop, with painted in black and tan on an ivory background. The popular during the Art Deco period and this particular moulded sides, sits on block feet. The supporting table back of the screen is decorated with diagonal stripes in piece is of the utmost luxury, as emphasized by the underneath, which has a semi-circular cut-out, carries the black with silver foil, in imitation of a zebra\u2019s stripes. use of silver foil. 1928. H:198cm (78in). SDR desktop section. c.1935. W:114cm (45in). AMO","THE UNITED STATES 397 French designers but combined them wood veneers and natural materials, on the modern city and way of life, 1919\u20131940 with modern materials, such as occasionally used in conjunction with such as the skyscraper. aluminium and Bakelite, to embellish innovative materials, such as steel and his opulent furniture designs. polished metal. The industrial designer K.E.M. Weber established a Californian version NEW MATERIALS AND MOTIFS American designers welcomed the of Art Deco. His distinctive furniture It was modern materials that ultimately machine age with open arms. They was mostly made from metal and glass beguiled American Art Deco furniture decorated their furniture with machine and often had skyscraper-like features. designers. At the celebrated Cranbrook motifs, such as interlocking cogs and Weber created sleek, functional Academy of Art in Michigan, the wheels. They celebrated speed and furniture for private commissions Finnish-American architect Eliel dynamism with the increasingly as well as designs intended for mass Saarinen produced elegant pieces streamlined look of their furniture production, using new materials such of furniture made from rich inspired by automobiles, ocean liners, as chromed metal, sprung steel, and and locomotives, and motifs based on laminated wood. He also designed The lift doors in the Chrysler building, New York dramatic bolts of lightning. They made lavish Art Deco furniture for dazzling These doors, designed by William Van Alen, bold use of Cubist-inspired geometric Hollywood film sets, which were represent the height of American Art Deco. The shapes and jazzy abstract patterns, and largely responsible for transmitting the abstract fountain motif and surrounding geometric included iconic American motifs based American Art Deco style to the world. patterns lead the eye upwards. 1928\u201330. paul frankl (1887\u20131958) PAUL FRANKL WANTED TO DESIGN A MODERN FORM OF FURNITURE THAT EXPRESSED THE \u201cNEW SPIRIT MANIFEST IN EVERY PHASE OF AMERICAN LIFE\u201d. PAINTED CHAIR COMMODE Born in Vienna, the architect and embellished with a lacquer finish in engineer Paul T. Frankl, fled Europe black, red, or pale green, edged with This William L. Price painted chair has moulded Designed by John Widdicomb for a department and settled in New York in 1914 at the silver leaf. He also designed \u201cskyscraper\u201d legs and an intricately carved backrest. It was store, this commode has a geometrically inlaid outbreak of World War I. At first, he writing desks and dressing tables with designed for the dining room at Traymore Hotel, top above a single long drawer, with stylized designed and manufactured furniture mirrored tops. Designed to be affordable, New Jersey, which was demolished in 1972. inlay. The twin inlaid and figured panel doors based on a formal European tradition, the quality of \u201cskyscraper\u201d furniture c.1915. H:85cm (34in). enclose three drawers. H:111.75cm (44in). FRE but by the mid 1920s, inspired by the was not always of the highest standard. architect-designers Le Corbusier and Frankl also supplied lacquered tables, Walter Gropius, he devoted his attention chairs, and cabinets for the Oriental-style to producing practical and economical interiors that became fashionable in the modular furniture. period between the two World Wars. It was in 1925 that Frankl really came into his own as a furniture designer with his renowned range of custom-made furniture inspired by the New York skyline and the skyscrapers that soared above his New York gallery. Typical Frankl \u201cskyscraper\u201d designs, which frequently evoke the pure lines found in the work of the Dutch painter Piet Mondrian, include tall, stepped chests of drawers, cabinets, and bookcases boasting an architectonic, rectilinear form. They were made from oak or California redwood and were sometimes STEEL STOOL ILLUMINATED BAR \u201cSkyscraper\u201d chest This rare Paul Frankl chest is asymmetrical, with One of a set of four patinated steel stools, this Made from black lacquer with an exotic wood long and short drawers, a single stool has an upholstered, padded seat and a veneer, this illuminated bar has a central cabinet, a pull-out enamelled shelf pierced apron cast with scrolling foliage. The cabinet with fluted doors and a mirrored in red and black, and geometrically stool has turned supports, linked by stretchers, interior. It sits upon a U-shaped base. H:162cm shaped brass pulls. H:142cm with a maker\u2019s label. L&T (64in); W:140cm (55 1\u20444in); D:48cm (19in). SDR (56in); W:91 .5cm (36in); D:54 .5cm (21 1\u20442in). SDR","398 ART DECO 1919\u20131940 STREAMLINING symbolizing an age of progress, change, and modernity, the streamlined forms of art deco helped to reinvigorate the american economy. ART MODERNE, AS THE AMERICAN form of Art Deco COFFEE TABLE is also known, had always been inspired by city This split-level coffee table by Donald Deskey has a large, life, from the outline of the skyscraper to the rectangular Bakelite table top above a smaller, rectangular sharp-edged designs reminiscent of syncopated level. The two are supported on elegant, J-shaped nickel legs. jazz rhythms. It had always embraced the machine age in its use of industrial motifs and new c.1925. H:45.75cm (18in); W:71cm (28in); D:35.5cm (14in). MSM materials. Then, in the 1930s, it made its final and perhaps greatest contribution to Art Deco with the FILING CABINET concept of streamlining. One of a pair, this Donald Deskey cabinet is made from black lacquer and rosewood and has nickel and bronze The Great Depression that swept across the country fittings. Inspired by industrial developments, Deskey\u2019s work after the Wall Street crash of 1929 left in its wake has much in common with that of the Bauhaus (see p.426). a crippled economy in need of rejuvenation and a public whose confidence had been shattered. c.1945. H:141cm (551\u20442in); W:42cm (161\u20442in). AMO Embracing both new technology and innovative materials, streamlining had a tremendous impact on American architecture and the decorative arts, as well as giving the economy a much-needed boost. DYNAMISM AND GLAMOUR It was in the area of transport that streamlined designs were first developed and popularized. From the early 1930s, great strides were made in the design of all modes of transport, especially railway locomotives and liners. The contoured lines, slick torpedo curves, and smooth horizontal surfaces that were meant to decrease air resistance and reduce turbulence became a glamorous symbol of the modern spirit. The industrial designer Norman Bel Geddes did much to popularize the streamlined style with his book Horizons (1932), which was full of striking images of streamlined trains, planes, and cars. The dynamic qualities that were linked to speed and technological progress captured the imagination of a public eager to move away from the Depression era and into a bold new, brighter future, and the STREAMLINED SOFA This sofa with end tables by Paul Frankl is made from black lacquer and black leather and has nickel-plated speed bands, derived from the \u201cspeed whiskers\u201d that often decorated trains and cars. H:127cm (50in); W:223.5cm (88in). MSM"]