PublishedThames & Hudson, October 2016 |
ISBN9780500239483 |
FormatHardcover, 400 pages |
Dimensions30.8cm × 23.9cm |
This ground-breaking book showcases and puts into historical context a profusion of sculpted works created in the 1920s and 1930s in the vernacular defined today as 'Art Deco'. From the chevrons, sunbursts, maidens, fountains, floral abstractions and ubiquitous biche (doe) of the Parisian geometric style to the crisp, angular patterns of the zig-zag, jazz-age, streamlined aesthetic of the 1930s, the works shown demonstrate an enormous range of styles and stylistic influences.
Alastair Duncan organizes his subject into three main categories: the first features work by avant-garde sculptors (Csaky, Janniot, Pompon and more), often as pieces uniques or small editions; the second shows commercial sculpture, comprising mainly large-edition statuary, commissioned as decorative works for the burgeoning 1920s domestic market; while a final, third category covers architectural and monumental sculpture from Western and Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, North and South America and beyond.
With extended biographies of the most important artists and concise biographies of all the principal artists as well as a thematic index, this encyclopaedic volume is the essential and authoritative guide for all those interested in the Art Deco style, from the amateur collector to professional historians of the period.
