Customer Reviews

Art Deco Complete: The Definitive Guide to the Decorative Arts of the 1920s and 1930s

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Although the book is called Art Deco Complete you should know that the editorial is really focused on the European fine art aspects of this wonderfully exuberant style. It doesn't cover architecture or the way the style was used for commercial products. Having said that I found the book a fascinating overview of Deco. Duncan has written several books on the style and this huge volume probably has much taken from all of these.

The book is in two sections: Media and Masters with sections on: Furniture and Interiors; Sculpture; Paintings, Graphics, Posters, Bookbinding; Glass; Ceramics; Lighting; Silver, Metal, Lacquer, Enamel; Jewelry. The second part is an A-Z of Designers, Artists and Manufacturers. The last pages have reasonable bibliography, index and a couple of pages I found useful: a glossary of French technical terms.

Each of the sections in the first part (304 pages) is divided into the leading artists with large photos of their work. In fact the images (over a thousand with most in color) throughout the pages are something, I feel, that lifts the title above many other books on the subject. The four Chiparus figures on 108-109 just jump of the page, similarly the quite stunning bookbinding on 144-145 or the Puiforat clocks on 296 -297 will really hold your attention. The second part (212 pages) design index also presents large photos to go names. The index does broaden out to include some commercial creative folk like Breuer, Kem, Loewy, Rohde or Russel Wright.

Author Duncan has managed to write what might end up as the standard work on the fine art aspects of Art Deco though I still think the word Complete in the title is rather misleading, it is after all a decorative art style and its influence traveled much further than the other `ism' styles from the early part of the last century. Art Deco 1910-1939 by Benton and Wood is a book that justifiably could have included the word Complete in its title. Own both books and you'll have the complete works.