By Albert Jacquemart
POD ISBN: 9781646996384
215.9 x 270 mm – 256 pages
From the Middle Ages to contemporary times, decorative art can be defined by the artistic materials, designs and objects used in both architecture and interior design. Similar to many art forms, decorative art continues to evolve, originating with pieces as simple as a chair, noted for its utility, to purely ornamental objects, celebrated for their aesthetic beauty. Decorative Art aims to eulogise these often undervalued objects by giving praise to all mediums of decorative art throughout the centuries.
Never originally considered as fine art, their artistic potential was not acknowledged until the 20th century, when industrial production replaced artisanal creation. The age, authenticity and above all the uniqueness of these precious objects have now become the new standards of quality and beauty found in decorative art. Join us in discovering the evolution of decorative art through this enticing survey of major masterpieces throughout time.
By Shaun Cole
POD ISBN: 9781646992362
215.9 x 270 mm – 256 pages
Men’s fashion, particularly the trends involving undergarments, was once reserved for the elite; today it has become democratised, clear proof of social progress. The aestheticism of the body so highly valued by the Greeks seems to have regained a prominent place in the masculine world. Mirroring the evolution of society’s values, the history of underwear also highlights the continuous, dancing exchange that exists between women’s styles and men’s fashion. Undergarments are concealed, flaunted, stretched or shortened, establishing a game between yesterday’s illicit and today’s chic and thereby denouncing the sense of disgrace that these simple pieces of clothing used to betray.
In this work, Shaun Cole endeavours to re-establish for the first time, through well-researched socio-economic analysis, the importance of men’s underwear in the history of costume from ancient times to today. A reflection of technological progress, this study is full of surprises and powerful reflections on man’s relationship with his body.
By Muriel Barbier, Shazia Boucher
POD ISBN: 9781646992348
215.9 x 270 mm – 256 pages
What do the thousands of images of bras and panties on perfectly sculpted bodies that we see spread across billboards and magazines say about our society? Many women indulge in lingerie to please men. Yet, since Antiquity, women have always kept lingerie hidden away under outer garments. Thus, lingerie must be more than erotic bait. Authors Muriel Barbier and Shazia Boucher have researched iconography to explore the relationship of lingerie to society, the economy and the corridors of intimacy. They correlate lingerie with emancipation, querying whether it asserts newfound freedoms or simply adjusts to conform to changing social values. The result is a rigorous scientific rationale spiced with a zestly humour. And the tinier lingerie gets, the more scholarly attention the authors believe it deserves.
By Patrik Alac
POD ISBN: 9781646992300
215.9 x 270 mm – 256 pages
It was in 1946 that the world first came to hear of a coral atoll in the Marshall Islands called Bikini. The following year, French couturier Louis Réard borrowed the name and applied it to a bathing costume for women. Breaking decades of boring conformity, Réard dared to ‘undress’ women’s bodies in order to better emphasise what remained clothed – albeit in tiny wisps of material. By accepting the bikini as popular beachwear, women also found themselves thinking differently about their bodies. An ideal of perfection was repeatedly reinforced by the appearance of such stars as Marilyn Monroe, Brigitte Bardot, and Ursula Andress on the cinema screen, all of whom were featured in bikinis that accentuated their own gloriously curvaceous contours. More than a bathing costume, the bikini made its own contribution to the sexual revolution during the 1970s, and, even more so, to the changing relationship between men and women in general.
This book investigates the history of the bikini as a way of noting the change in society’s perception of women. Furthermore, it examines how women have taken control of the way they look and laid claim to their own sexual equality. Discover here, through a wealth of photographs, this progression of femininity, which spans more than 50 years.
By Oscar Lovell Triggs
POD ISBN: 9781646995233
215.9 x 270 mm – 256 pages
“Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.” This quote alone from William Morris could summarise the ideology of the Arts & Crafts movement, which triggered a veritable reform in the applied arts in England. Founded by John Ruskin, then put into practice by William Morris, the Arts & Crafts movement promoted revolutionary ideas in Victorian England. In the middle of the “soulless” Industrial Era, when objects were standardised, the Arts & Crafts movement proposed a return to the aesthetic at the core of production. The work of artisans and meticulous design thus became the heart of this new ideology, which influenced styles throughout the world, translating the essential ideas of Arts & Crafts into design, architecture and painting.
By Victoria Charles
POD ISBN: 9781683259138
205 x 260 mm – 72 pages
The Art Deco movement emerged from the remnants of a world that had been torn apart after World War I. This aesthetic movement came to embody dreams of industry and prosperity. In the whirl of the Jazz Age and frenzy of the “Roaring Twenties”, the streamlined silhouette of the flapper girl was reflected in the architectural aesthetic of Art Deco -the rounded curve was conquered by the androgynous straight line. Architecture, painting, furniture, and sculpture evolved into oeuvres enhanced with sharp lines and broken angles. Although short-lived, this movement still influences contemporary design today.
By Victoria Charles, Klaus H. Carl
POD ISBN: 9781646992249
215.9 x 270 mm – 200 pages
The Art Deco movement emerged from the remnants of a world that had been torn apart after World War I. This aesthetic movement came to embody dreams of industry and prosperity. In the whirl of the Jazz Age and frenzy of the “Roaring Twenties”, the streamlined silhouette of the flapper girl was reflected in the architectural aesthetic of Art Deco -the rounded curve was conquered by the androgynous straight line. Architecture, painting, furniture, and sculpture evolved into oeuvres enhanced with sharp lines and broken angles. Although short lived, this movement still influences contemporary design today.
By Émile Gallé
POD ISBN: 9781646995479
215.9 x 270 mm – 200 pages
An icon in the Art Nouveau movement, Émile Gallé (1846-1904) sought to portray the beauty and simplicity of nature in his glass art. His designs, referred to as “poetry in glass”, range from fine pottery and jewellery to furniture. Everything Gallé produced contains traces of his masterful technique which reflects his innovativeness as an artist and his skill as a designer. In this rich text, Gallé unravels the beauty and ingenuity found within his own work.
By Jean Lahor
POD ISBN: 9781646992256
215.9 x 270 mm – 200 pages
Art Nouveau designates a decorative and architectural style developed in the 1880s and 1890s in the West. Born in reaction to the Industrial Revolution and to the creative vacuum it left behind, Art Nouveau was at the heart of a “renaissance” in the decorative arts. The primary objective of the movement was the creation of a new aesthetic of nature through a return to the study of natural subjects. In order to achieve this, such artists as Gustav Klimt, Koloman Moser, Antoni Gaudí, Jan Toorop, and William Morris favoured innovation in technique and novelty of forms.
After its triumph at the Paris Universal Exposition in 1900, the trend continued and has inspired many artists ever since. Art Deco, the successor of Art Nouveau, appeared after World War II.
By Jean Lahor
POD ISBN: 9781646992256
205 x 260 mm – 72 pages
Art Nouveau designates a decorative and architectural style developed in the 1880s and 1890s in the West. Born in reaction to the Industrial Revolution and to the creative vacuum it left behind, Art Nouveau was at the heart of a “renaissance” in the decorative arts. The primary objective of the movement was the creation of a new aesthetic of nature through a return to the study of natural subjects. In order to achieve this, such artists as Gustav Klimt, Koloman Moser, Antoni Gaudí, Jan Toorop, and William Morris favoured innovation in technique and novelty of forms.
After its triumph at the Paris Universal Exposition in 1900, the trend continued and has inspired many artists ever since. Art Deco, the successor of Art Nouveau, appeared after World War II.
By Victoria Charles & Klaus H. Carl
POD ISBN: 9781646991747
215.9 x 270 mm – 200 pages
Gothic art finds its roots in the powerful architecture of the cathedrals of northern France. It is a medieval art movement that evolved throughout Europe for more than 200 years. Leaving curved Roman forms behind, the architects started using flying buttresses and pointed arches to open cathedrals to the daylight. A period of great economic and social change, the gothic era also saw the development of a new iconography celebrating the Holy Mary, in contrast to the fearful themes of dark Roman times. Full of rich changes in all the different arts (architecture, sculpture, painting, etc.), Gothic art gave way to the Italian Renaissance and International Gothic.
By Jeremy Roe
POD ISBN: 9781646992317
215.9 x 270 mm – 208 pages
Spanish architect and designer Antoni Gaudí (1852-1926) is an important and influential
figure in the history of Spanish art. His use of colour, application of different materials and introduction of movement in his constructions were an innovation in the realm of architecture. In his journal, Gaudí freely expressed his own feelings on art, “the colours used in architecture have to be intense, logical and fertile.”
The author, Jeremy Roe, is interested in a wide range of photography and architectural detail.
This interest drives the author and enables him to reveal the context of the art of Barcelona while he guides us through an introduction to Antoni Gaudí, master of some of the most famous
constructions, design objects and greatest works in Spanish architecture. This book offers a great insight into Gaudí’s work.
By Émile Bayard
POD ISBN: 9781646995776
215.9 x 270 mm – 256 pages
Have you ever wondered why your ceiling is shaped like the arches in a Gothic cathedral? Or why your office building looks so different from its neighbouring counterparts? The ABC of Style invites you to explore the many different architectural and decorative interior styles from their ancient origins to the beginning of the 20th century. Take a journey through history to see how the French aristocracy styled their palaces and castles to the simple designs of the Dominican monastic churches during the Middle Ages.
Often, political changes implicate a stylistic transformation. Thus, the different European styles were frequently named after a sovereign or a historical period (Renaissance style, Medieval style). Until the end of the 19th century, the stylistic mutations of the time were generally based on the tastes of royalty. Stylistic expression was, therefore, an affirmation of power.
By Michael Siebenbrodt, Lutz Schöbe
POD ISBN: 9781646995844
215.9 x 270 mm – 256 pages
The Bauhaus movement is one of the most significant cultural developments of the 20th century. Walter Gropius founded this institute of design in 1919; it was active first in Weimar, then in Dessau and Berlin. Several renowned architects of the time period served as directors of the school: Walter Gropius from 1919 to 1928, Hannes Meyer from 1928 to 1930 and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe from 1930 to 1933. The works of the Bauhaus artists, Lyonel Feininger, Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, Gerhard Marcks, Oskar Schlemmer and László Moholy-Nagy, as well as those of the students and young faculty members, Josef Albers, Herbert Bayer, Marcel Breuer, Gunta Stölzl and Joost Schmidt, were greatly admired and aroused the interest of museums across the world. Bauhaus was founded to explore new aesthetic perspectives and creative teaching programmes for the education of architects, designers and artists for a post-war democratic society.
The school’s syllabus featured a combination of creative training, basic artistic knowledge, workshop production, and learning to work as a team. Animated by an acute social awareness, the Bauhaus would soon combine its creativity with industrialisation and mass production, and conceive numerous products which were not only beautiful but useful, durable and affordable. In 1933 the Nazi closure of the Bauhaus triggered the emigration of many of its members, and thus the ideas produced there were spread worldwide. The design standards created by the Bauhaus are still observed in today’s architecture and design schools, as well as in general art classes. The products of the Bauhaus, such as Marcel Breuer’s well-known steel pipe furniture, became classic, inexpensive design standards. The Bauhaus buildings have made architectural history and now are classified as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. This book features an overview of the history of the Bauhaus, accompanied by numerous images, and sheds light on its evolution and connection with other movements.