Orsay: Decorative Arts

This book is the fourth in the series on the collections of the Musee d'Orsay. It is hte first on the subject of the decorative arts collection collection held by the Muse d'Orsay. The latter half of the nineteenth century witnessed a profound change in architecture and the decorative arts. This change initially took the form of eclecticism, with constant reference to past styles, but the movement was later influenced by the voyages of exploration and by the International Exhibitions which confronted Western art with its Oriental and Asian counterparts. With the Arts and Crafts movement, the decorative arts sought to combine the beautiful with the useful, to merge art with industry, and to produce everyday objects that were also aesthetically pleasing. The 1890s, however, saw the development of a vast pan-European movement which was to do away with all bygone repertoires: Art Nouveau. This book illustrates the various domains of the decorative arts and these different periods in their history, reviewing them in chronological order. Consequently the reader can admire a whole range of creations - from metalwork and jewellery by Lalique, ceramics and enamel or glassware produced by Galle and the Nancy School, constructions by architect-artists such as Horta and Guimard and furniture by Majorelle to industrial furniture with the famous Thonet "bistro chair".