Unlike Art nouveau which is known by different names, this is not the case with its successor.
Art Deco was born around 1920 and lasted until the end of the Second World War. After the International Exhibition of Contemporary Decorative Industrial Arts (Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes), his name was made up. From art décoratifs, we naturally got the abbreviation art déco, and that’s how this movement got its name.
We often confuse Art nouveau with Art deco. The fact is that in the artistic sense we cannot strictly determine when one begins and the other ends, but there are differences between them. Before the arrival of Art deco on the scene, Art nouveau, with its curved lines, dynamism, and colors, paved the way for the new freedom that was ready to come. In this sense, Art deco had a good starting point, borrowing something from its predecessor, but at the same time being different from it.
Art Deco was inspired by technology. Not only were there new machines developed, but also significant developments in the field of materials: such as aluminum, stainless steel, glass, and plastic. In addition, Art deco was influenced by African art, as well as artistic movements such as Cubism. In addition to Cubism, there are also popular artists of the time, such as Picasso and Georges Braque. Cubists were popular at that time and the sharp, cubist line found its refuge in Art deco, a movement that artistically tried to bring the cold worlds of robotization and technology a little bit closer.
The characteristics that mark Art deco are sharp, geometric lines, pure geometric shapes, symmetry, sophistication, elegance, and others.
Today, examples of Art nouveau and Art deco can be found almost everywhere. Even though they are no longer in their prime, their influence can still be felt. They are still very popular when it comes to interior design, furniture design, and ceramic sculpture. Although it is logical that the two styles, which arise one after the other, coincide in some way, perhaps we can best determine which one is in question if we look at the years of the creation of a work of art we are looking at. Of course, this does not mean that a work of art will not have characteristics of both movements.
Author: Miloš Lazarević
Image: Claudette Bleijenberg
Sources: 1, 2, 3
