The Pavillon d’Italie at the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes,
in Paris.
A poster advertising the
Exhibition.
The “Perisphere” and the “Trylon” at the 1939 New York World’s Fair.
A Cartier “tortue” wristwatch, circa 1918.
The cover of the magazine “l’Illustration” from October 3, 1936.
An Art Deco “tutti frutti” brooch,
circa 1925.
Brandon Thomas
Director, Watch Expert
The design of a building proposed for construction in New York City, circa 1920.

The birth of the Art Deco movement was a result of French designers feeling the need to reestablish their role as leaders of design and style and to regain their position at the top of the luxury market. Disillusioned by the general unpopularity of Art Nouveau and unable to compete with advances in design and manufacturing in Austria, England and Germany at the end of the 19th century, the Société des Artistes Décorateurs was founded in 1900. Their main objective was to promote new high standards for French design and production and hold annual exhibitions at the Paris Salon d'Automne.

In 1912, the French government announced an international exhibition of decorative arts, thereby promoting French dominance in the field. The Exposition des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes, originally scheduled for 1915, was postponed due to the First World War and did not take place until 1925. The primary requirement for inclusion was that all works must be thoroughly modern; no copying of past styles would be permitted. The French government would be the first to break this rule with the construction of the Pavillon de l’Italie, a clearly Neo-Classical structure. The majority of works exhibited were firmly rooted in the traditions of the past. Design inspirations from the treasures found in King Tutankhamen's tomb, opened in 1922, had permeated the movement, coiled adders, chariots, porcelain goddesses and other Egyptian styles were to be found as decorative motifs throughout the exhibition.

A simple question, however an answer is far from simple. There is general agreement on many points, yet a definitive answer does not seem to exist. One thing is certain: the term Art Deco was first popularized in 1968 by Bevis Hillier in his book “Art Deco of the 20s and 30s”. The term was an abbreviated reference to the Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes held in Paris in 1925.

 

The birth of the Art Deco movement was a result of French designers feeling the need to reestablish their role as leaders of design and style and to regain their position at the top of the luxury market.

Disillusioned by the general unpopularity of Art Nouveau and unable to compete with advances in design and manufacturing in Austria, England and Germany at the end of the 19th century, the Société des Artistes Décorateurs was founded in 1900. Their main objective was to promote new high standards for French design and production and hold annual exhibitions at the Paris Salon d'Automne.

A simple question, however an answer is far from simple. There is general agreement on many points, yet a definitive answer does not seem to exist. One thing is certain: the term Art Deco was first popularized in 1968 by Bevis Hillier in his book “Art Deco of the 20s and 30s”. The term was an abbreviated reference to the Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes held in Paris in 1925.

Christopher Dresser’s watercolor and gouache design for an octagonal vase, produced by Minton’s circa 1870.
Two silver teapots produced by James Dixon and Sons, Sheffield, 1872, according to designs by Dresser.
To identify the influences on the whole of the Art Deco movement we must first divide it into three distinct periods: the first, from 1900 to 1925, the French driven “Art De Luxe”; the second, from 1925 to 1935, the more cubist Germanic-influenced “Moderniste” period; and lastly the “Streamline” period, lasting through 1939, driven by a global downturn and mass production.

The clearest influences of the first period of the Art Deco movement can be found from the mid 19th century through movements running along side the French Art Deco: Art Nouveau from which it evolved, the Esthetic movement finding its influence from the Far East, Arts and Crafts designers placing importance on well made hand-crafted objects, the Vienna Secession with clean lines, and the Glasgow School in Scotland.

In 1862 Christopher Dresser wrote his book entitled “The Art of Decorative Design”, marking him in a way the grandfather of “Art Deco”. The majority of his designs were far too ornate to be fashionable during the first period of Art Deco, however several are clearly forerunners to the deco style. Dresser applied the following criteria to design and manufacture, “Were they useful? Were they beautiful? If an object failed in either quality we shall regard it imperfectly answering the end of its creation”. The same ideals were true for many Art Deco designers.

An elegant Vacheron & Constantin, Genève, gold and enamel keyless dress watch
with Egyptian-inspired decoration, made in 1923.
The period from 1900 to 1925 derived its decorative inspiration from Egyptian and early classical sources as well as Native American and South American pre-Colombian art. Chinese decoration crept into French Art Deco design as a result of the popularity of the Sax Rohmer “Fu Manchu” novels as did Japanese influences due to the exoticism of the era. Another great inspiration was the natural world; characteristic motifs included nude female figures, animals, and foliage - all Baroque in concept, they seem to want to be released from the confines placed on them by designers.

The use of platinum in jewelry also had a profound effect on the period. It allowed jewelers to set stones with much smaller claws, thereby allowing large stones to be mounted almost invisibly, and showing them to the greatest effect. It also allowed the great design houses such as Cartier and Verger to use the small carved colored stones coming from India in a new way, known as “Tutti-Frutti”, a style that is now instantly recognizable as Art Deco.

Background: An 8th century Japanese bronze of the god Bishamon.
Front: An extremely rare ivory, silver, gold, and lacquered wood Art Deco table clock by
Vacheron & Constantin, Genève, made in 1929.

Ziggurat or “Zig-Zag” architecture and design with consecutively receding levels was inspired by the pyramids. These designs were later adapted to skyscrapers for aesthetic reasons and to allow sunshine in between buildings - the Empire State building and the Chrysler building in New York are excellent examples of this style’s evolution.

1925 marked the culmination of the first period of French Art Deco style which was well established and had flourished after the war. The enormous success of The Exposition des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes marked the beginning of the “Moderniste” Art Deco period.

A gold and enamel Art Deco
pendant watch, Geneva, circa 1930.
A chrome-plated tubular steel, rubber and leather chaise longue by Le Corbusier, made in 1928 by Gebrüder Thonet.
An Art Deco book jacket from 1926.
Examples of streamlining in design, as seen in airplanes, trains, cars, and a clock, all from the 1930s.
A rare Art Deco 18K white and yellow gold, keyless dress watch with so-called “American calendar”, made by Vacheron & Constantin, Genève, in 1936.
Background: Boris Karloff as Fu Manchu in
“The Mask of Fu Manchu”, 1932.
Front: Egmont Arens and Theodore C. Brockhart’s ”Streamliner”, a meat slicer designed in 1940.