Art Deco, short for the French Arts décoratifs, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in Paris in the 1910s, and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920s to early 1930s. Through styling and design of the exterior and interior of anything from large structures to small objects, including how people look, Art Deco has influenced bridges, buildings, ships, ocean liners, trains, cars, trucks, buses, furniture, and everyday objects including radios and vacuum cleaners.
Image: Chrysler Building 1 (4684845155)
Image: Chicago world's fair, a century of progress, expo poster, 1933, 2
Image: Victoire 2 by Rene Lalique Toyota Automobile Museum
Table and chairs by Maurice Dufrêne and carpet by Paul Follot at the 1912 Salon des artistes décorateurs
The Art Deco movement of architecture and design appeared in Paris in about 1910–12, and continued until the beginning of World War II in 1939. It took its name from the International Exposition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts held in Paris in 1925. It was characterized by bold geometric forms, bright colors, and highly stylized decoration, and it symbolized modernity and luxury. Art Deco architecture, sculpture, and decoration reached its peak at 1939 Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne, and in movie theaters, department stores, other public buildings. It also featured in the work of Paris jewelers, graphic artists, furniture craftsmen, and jewelers, and glass and metal design. Many Art Deco landmarks, including the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées and the Palais de Chaillot, can be seen today in Paris.
Image: Art Deco screen "Oasis" 1925
Image: Immeuble de Pierre Patout Bd Victor Paris XV
Image: Paris 75016 Fontaines du Trocadéro 20090815
Antoine Bourdelle, La Danse, facade of the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Paris (1912)