![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/file-20251105-64-nzwzpy.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
The original \u2018celestial eyes\u2019 cover of The Great Gatsby, from 1925. Although known by various names, the term art deco (short for the French arts d\u00e9coratifs) has been attributed to the Swiss-French architectural designer Le Corbusier<\/a>. He harshly criticised the new style in his journal L\u2019Esprit Nouveau,pithily claiming that \u201cmodern decoration has no decoration\u201d. Likewise, historian Nikolaus Pevsner<\/a> considered its \u201cjazzy modernism\u201d a perversion of true modernism.<\/p>\n The term was only confirmed in 1968 with the publication of Bevis Hillier\u2019s book<\/a> Art Deco of the 20s and 30s, which fortified the style\u2019s name. Hillier described art deco as \u201cthe last of the total styles\u201d affecting \u201ceverything, from skyscrapers and luxury liners to powder compacts, thermos flasks, lampposts and letterboxes\u201d. <\/p>\n In America, art deco spanned the boom of 1920s and the bust of the Depression-ridden 1930s. F. Scott Fitzgerald\u2019s novels The Beautiful and the Damned<\/a> (1922) and The Great Gatsby<\/a> (1925) reflected the style of the period: flappers and \u201csheiks\u201d<\/a> embracing the spirit of frivolity, liberation and hopefulness.<\/p>\n The \u201cmachine age\u201d was in full swing, and technology was rapidly improving quality of life. The period saw the introduction of the industrialised printing press, radio, the first skyscrapers and modern transportation. There was a sense of excitement and expectancy in the air, a time of anticipating a future filled with promise and possibility.<\/p>\n A sense of style<\/p>\n Stylistically, art deco\u2019s distinct machine aesthetic replaced the flowing, floral motifs of the earlier arts and crafts and art nouveau<\/a> styles. This movement incorporated streamlined, geometric designs that expressed the speed, power and scale of modern technology.<\/p>\n A stamp showing Tamara de Lempicka\u2019s Jeune Fille en Vert from 1927-30. Design influences came from the early 20th century art movements of cubism, futurism and constructivism<\/a> as well as from the ancient exotic cultures of Egypt, Assyria and Persia.<\/p>\n Zig-zags, sunbursts and stylistic flowers became synonymous with the style, along with the use of bright colours (influenced by fauvism<\/a>), strong rectilinear shapes and new materials such as aluminium, stainless steel, chrome and plastic. According to art deco expert Alastair Duncan<\/a>: \u201cfor the first time, the straight line became a source of beauty.\u201d<\/p>\n Art deco often conjures up images of delicate Lalique glassware<\/a> or the vibrant abstract designs of British ceramicist Clarice Cliff<\/a>. But despite its European origin, art deco is perhaps best defined by American architecture.<\/p>\n The Chrysler Building, the Empire State Building and the Radio City Music Hall are among the most impressive examples with their sleek, linear appearance with stylised, often geometric ornamentation that transformed New York City into a futuristic modern metropolis. It is perhaps inevitable that art deco would influence film-making (Fritz Lang\u2019s Metropolis, from 1927, for example) and later 20th-century design styles, like retrofuturism<\/a>.<\/p>\n The ornate art deco lobby of Radio City Music Hall in New York, which opened in 1932. While painting is not closely associated with art deco, Tamara de Lempicka\u2019s<\/a> highly stylised portraits of aristocrats and socialites echoed the 1920s glamour and sophistication. Her work defined the role of \u201cthe new woman\u201d, a term originally coined in the late-19th century, but also referring to a generation of free-spirited women with liberal interpretations of gender in the early 20th century. <\/p>\n Many of Lempicka\u2019s paintings were of nudes with several set against a background of New York skyscrapers. The cubist influence in her work is also evident through her use of bold lines and geometric, angular shapes. Madonna, an avid collector of the artist who has admitted to owning enough Lempicka paintings to open a museum, referenced Lempicka\u2019s unique aesthetic<\/a> in her music videos for Open Your Heart (1987), Express Yourself (1989), Vogue (1990) and included projections of Lempicka\u2019s paintings in her 2023-24 Celebration Tour<\/a>. <\/p>\n The new Jaguar type 00 released last year as part of the company\u2019s brand transformation shows distinct art deco overtones. Today, the art deco style remains relevant and desirable. In January 2025, Country and Town House magazine announced \u201cart deco is back for 2025\u201d<\/a> in interior design. <\/p>\n Mercedes-Benz recently showcased its new Vision Iconic show car<\/a> \u2013 its dramatic radiator grille designed to harken back to the \u201cgolden era of automotive design in the 1930s\u201d. Jaguar also created a pink show car earlier this year, the advert for which referenced the art deco architecture of Miami Beach.<\/p>\n A century after its Parisian debut, the art deco movement continues to inspire with its modernity, elegance and freedom of form, creating a sense of nostalgia through juxtaposing perspectives from the past and present.<\/p>\n Looking for something good? Cut through the noise with a carefully curated selection of the latest releases, live events and exhibitions, straight to your inbox every fortnight, on Fridays. Sign up here<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\n Francis Cugat \/ Charles Sribener & Sons<\/a><\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/file-20251105-56-1vamep.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n Spatuletail \/ Shutterstock<\/a><\/p>\n![\"An](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/file-20251105-56-gmkgub.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n Brian Logan Photography \/ Shutterstock<\/a><\/p>\n
\nLempicka\u2019s work increased in popularity during the late-1980s when a string of celebrities, including Jack Nicholson and Barbra Streisand, expressed their admiration for her work.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/file-20251105-56-l24ast.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n Jaguar<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1763293160_531_file-20250110-15-rdfnbz.png\")
<\/p>\n