Art Deco

by Norbert Wolf

Sinnlich und sachlich – Die Kunst der 1920er und 1930er Jahre

Was haben das Chrysler Building in New York, die sachlichkühlen Porträts von Tamara de Lempicka, die Tiller Girls und eine Tischleuchte von Wilhelm Wagenfeld gemeinsam? Den Stil: in allen Fällen allerschönster Art déco. Kaum eine andere Stilrichtung hat das Bild ihrer Epoche so umfassend geprägt wie der Art déco, dem es gelang, verschiedenste Einflüsse – die kubistischen Stillleben Picassos, die reinen Farben der Fauves, die ornamentalen Verzierungen des Jugendstils – miteinander zu verschmelzen. Ausgehend von Paris setzte sich die Formensprache des Art déco ab Mitte der 1920er Jahre weltweit durch und ergriff alle Bereiche von Kunst und Kultur: von Architektur und Innenraumgestaltung über Skulptur und Mode bis zu Grafik- und Produktdesign. Der vorliegende, ganz im Stil des Art déco gestaltete und hochwertig ausgestattete Band widmet sich der Frage nach dessen kunstgeschichtlichen und kulturpolitischen Voraussetzungen, beleuchtet die sich parallel entwickelnden Stile und Theorien und ordnet sie in den Zusammenhang der Kunst des 20. Jahrhunderts ein. (Amazon.de)

Genres: Art, Design, Nonfiction, Reference

288 pages, Hardcover

First published October 25, 2013

About the author

Norbert Wolf is an art historian and author based in Munich. He has published several books with Prestel, including "Art Nouveau", "Art Deco", "Impressionism", "Spanish Painting", and "The Golden Age of Dutch and Flemish Painting", as well as monographs on Albrecht Dürer and Titian.

Reviews

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second book by Norbert Wolf I read. Like the one on Art Nouveau, it is impressive from the point of design and printing. Very large and heavy volume, good heavy paper, many large-scale color images, excellent design down to the Art Deco fonts. Something that is good as a gift and looks good on the coffee table. And just like the Art Nouveau book it has problems with its content. To start with, it is not really a book on Art Deco. Unlike other books having Art Deco in the title (i.e., Arwas) this one is mostly about multiple art movements ("isms"), that could be considered as pre-cursors to Art Deco. This part is quite interesting by itself - although it is heavily biased to paintings, and mostly to German art - but it is not Art Deco. Given that another part is focused on post-Deco art, less than 1/3 of the book is really focused on Art Deco and this part is very uneven. It has a bit of architecture - which was one of the main Art Deco manifestations, a lot of painting, and almost nothing on the other types of arts and crafts. On the topic of that, writing is very heavy, much more a collection of essays than an informative book on an important style. Overall, a major disappointment. Do not get this book if you want to learn about Art Deco. On the other hand, if you are interested about pre Art Deco "isms" and especially German art of early 20 century, it could be a useful book to check.

[Troy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good lord. This is why you buy a coffee table, so you can put this on it. Excellent representations of the style, done up on good quality paper in a HUGE volume. If you are a fan of Art Deco, or are curious how it's represented in things other than building fronts and posters, get this here.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fairly expansive look at what makes up the history of Art Deco. It covers the usual biographical suspects, artists and artistic movements, but it also encompasses a fair bit more. As a coffee table book, I'd say it's par excellence in terms of the more obscure pamphlets, magazine covers, and building interiors included here.

[Abed El]

An excellent book that is full of marvelous illustrations and very descriptive narrative. A definite definitive guide to the Decorative Arts of the 1920s and 1930s.While reading in this book, we have discovered new areas about Art Deco that inspired us to animate a simple video
on youtube. Here is the link for all the Art Deco fans out there!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DP_jb...

[Laura · Rating 1 out of 5]

Cool photos, but some inclusions seem to fall outside the style. Or maybe they are correct... the text was so textbook-y dense and officious that I could never last more than a couple paragraphs.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has to be the sexiest, and most thorough coffee table book about the Art Deco era. Crisp, heavy pages, and detailed photographs.

[Sheila · Rating 4 out of 5]

wonderful photos and design inspiration

[Raphael Lindtburgh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hätte mir mehr Bildmaterial gewünscht. In diesem Fall sprechen nämlich Bilder mehr als 1000 Worte.