The history of Art Deco
The initial years after the end of the First World War were ones of confusion given the forced cultural isolation that the war had caused.
The first part of the 1920s passed with much uncertainty, but with a strong sense of excitement.
Ideas were elaborated from previous styles; furniture was full of inlays and flowers from the Liberty style, and it was still too rich in bronzes.
This period of introduction and preparation for the new forms exploded in all its force in the final 3-4 years of the 1920s. Furniture's lines became rigid, ordered and symmetrical; black and gold became the predominant colours; the large, smooth surfaces offered the space for central oval designs or chequered squares; ever more exotic veneer designs (herringbone, starburst) were expertly introduced into pieces of furniture in order to give a particular sense of style and elegance; the figures of men and women, and animals were rendered uniform and slightly stylised.
One can consider it a return to order. The symmetry of Greek and Roman arches, columns and capitals were studied by the artists of the day; who later introduced them into furniture with pleasing results.
The origin of the name given to this historic period comes from an international exhibition of decorative art held in Paris in 1925 (ART-DECOratifs). The term itself was only coined in France in the 1960s when the style was re-evaluated.