Art History with Anne

Live Lectures for February-March 2025

Paris 1925: Birth of Art Deco and Modernism

Once again, the spotlight falls on Paris, as we prepare to celebrate 100 years of Art Deco. Make sure you have a flute of champagne to hand on 28th April which has been declared World Art Deco Day. This marks the official opening of the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes from which the term Art Deco was coined in the 1960s. At the time it was known as the Moderne style. The Exposition was a thoroughly French affair, as neither the USA or Germany participated. It was a chance for Paris to present itself as a fashion leader and the centre of the luxury goods trade. All the major department stores were represented, Galeries Lafayette, Primtemps, and Magasins du Louvre, offering a plethora of beautiful objects to create opulent interiors. However, Le Corbusier’s Pavilion de l’Esprit Nouveau offered a different vision being a white box with minimal fittings and mass-produced furniture, a stark departure from the expensive, one-off pieces, on show in the other pavilions. The Art Deco style and the Modernist movement are always positioned as two opposing movements. Yet they frequently intersected with designers such as Elieen Gray and Pierre Chareau shifting to the modernist aesthetic. Over three lectures I hope to show that Art Deco and Modernism enjoyed a symbiotic relationship.

Paris 1925 Art Deco Palaces

To be given on Tuesday 18th February 2025 at 11am and repeated at 7pm BST

The Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes was dominated by the great designers Rene Lalique for glass, Edgar Brandt for metalwork, Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann for furniture and Jean Dunand for lacquer work. No expense was spared with luxury bespoke ensembles created by the most eminent architects and designers. The outstanding Maison d’un Collectionneur, overseen by Ruhlmann, created an ideal Art Deco mansion with paintings by Jean Dupas, sculpture by Antoine Bourdelle, and bespoke metalwork by Brandt. Wealthy visitors were inspired to create their own Art Deco palaces with a broader agenda of introducing modernity to their own countries: Prince Asaka in Tokyo, Paul Cavrois in Roubaix, near Lille, Count Carlos Alberto Cabral in Porto and the Maharaja of Indore in Madhya Pradesh, India.

Teien Art Museum, Tokyo

Manik Bagh or “Gem Garden”.

Paris 1925 Art Deco Fashion

To be given on Tuesday 25th February 2025 at 11am and repeated at 7pm BST

Flappers were a “new breed” of young women who wore short skirts, bobbed their hair, listened to jazz and flouted convention. Corsets were discarded, with dresses straight and loose, dropping the waistline to the hips. With the invention of the metal lipstick container and compact mirrors, bee stung lips came into vogue. Dark, kohl-rimmed, eyes created a vampish look. Film stars Louise Brooks and Claudette Colbert and dancers Josaphine Baker and Ida Lvovna Rubinstein were idols. At Paris 1925 Paul Poiret took the concept of the catwalk outside with his famous barge floating on the Seine. Poiret was a fashion rebel, firstly discarding the petticoat, and then, in 1906, the corset. His instinct for marketing and branding was unmatched by any other Parisian designer, encompassing interior decoration and fragrance. He was the first French couturier to launch a signature fragrance. With the aid of photography Poiret transformed fashion into art. His importance will be celebrated with an exhibition at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs (June 2025-Jan 2026)

Paris 1925: Modernist Women Designers

To be given on Tuesday 4th March 2025 at 11am and repeated at 7pm BST

The opulence of the Art Deco interior, which only an elite bourgeoise clientele could afford, provoked a reaction. Surely every member of society was entitled to a better home and standard of living? Advocating functional architecture and furniture, mass production rather than luxury handmade products, and simpler and cheaper materials the Union des Artistes Moderne (UAM) was founded in 1929. Robert Mallet-Stevens, its first president, had been a prominent contributor to Paris1925. Shaped by the ethos of the German Bauhaus and Dutch De Stijl, designer Eileen Gray made the transition from lacquer furniture to tubular steel. Joining his studio in 1927, Charlotte Perriand collaborated with Le Corbusier to create those iconic ‘machines for sitting’. Like Perriand, Aino Maria Marsio-Aalto’s contribution to mid-century modern has been obscured. Let’s reveal the women behind the famous men!

Please join me to explore the lasting influence of Art Deco and Modernism!

Dates for your diary

Paris 1925 Art Deco Palaces
Tuesday 18th February 2025 at 11am and repeated at 7pm BST

Paris 1925 Art Deco Fashion
Tuesday 25th February 2025 at 11am and repeated at 7pm BST

Paris 1925: Modernist Women Designers
Tuesday 4th March 2025 at 11am and repeated at 7pm BST

How to book a lecture

The cost of each lecture is £10. Book all three lectures for £25.

You can book this live lecture for either the morning or the evening presentation.
Please state your preferred time, Morning Lecture or Evening Lecture, for the zoom link as they different codes.

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As the lectures will be delivered live by Zoom, you will be able to ask your questions in person at the end. You can also use the ‘Chat’ function.

After the lecture you will be sent another private link so you can access the lecture on my YouTube Channel.

To book your place please email Susan Branfield at susanbranfield77@gmail.com
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