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Art
Deco:
The term
was coined in the 1960's as
such and came from the International exhibition of "Decorative
arts &
modern industries" held in Paris in 1925. This exhibition was meant to
be held long before this date as a direct response of the International
exhibitions of Torino and Milan, respectively held in 1902 & 1906. Due
to lack of funding, agreements between organizers and finally WW1, this
major exhibition was put off until 1925, when times became more
favorable for such a massive undertaking. As one can imagine, the tastes
of 1925 were drastically different than in 1910 and allowed for radical
new ideas to emerge. Now, what is "art Deco"? Be it in France, USA,
Japan or Europe in general, the similarity is
striking. The main difference
is timing, French Art Deco lasted from 1918 to 1939, American
Art Deco
goes beyond that time and started later on as a movement. We know this
movement was abandoned in France in 1939 as the German Nazis started
using Deco symbols and the French reacted negatively and simply moved
away from this style. In essence "Art Deco" is a style represented by
symmetrical, rectilinear lines, abstract designs & bold contrasting
colors embracing industrial techniques as a whole. In contrast, Art
Nouveau was more focused on asymmetrical lines (whiplash curves),
realistic true to nature design and soft coordinated colors, with the
big movement leaders against using industrial techniques (though most
used it).
Our focus here will be on glass, more importantly on one great artist of
this era: Charles Schneider. Schneider is fast becoming recognized, and
rightly so, as the leading force in art glass during
the Art Deco movement. His contribution is
an
important one in
influencing and initiating the art glass
movement transition from Art Nouveau to Art
Deco in France. |
Schneider ewer with applied handle and
3 larmes.
c. 1925-1928
Le Verre Francais vase of the series "Platanes".
c. 1928-1929
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