La Paresse (1924 - 1925) by George Barbier

Art Deco Decadence

George Barbier, a French graphic artist, created this scene of cultured decadence. It is a pochoir print based on a 1924 watercolour; it appeared in the following year’s fashion annual, Falbalas et Fanfreluches. This magazine made it a point to commission its illustrators to create themed series of illustrations. ‘ Barbier depicts Sloth here, one of the vices depicted in a series depicting the Seven Deadly Sins.

The setting is a sort of harem, with two very modern odalisques lounging on an abundance of carpets and cushions. The birds in the background appear to be inspired by the traditional image of the phoenix, but they are more likely to be inspired by the currently fashionable image of the Firebird—the magical bird of Russian folklore and the subject of Stravinsky’s contentious 1910 ballet. Other Art Deco elements include the massive table lamp; women’s short, bobbed hairstyles; and, perhaps most significantly, the slender cigarette holder, which had become the latest in fashionable self-indulgence. The abandoned book harkens back to earlier depictions of Sloth, when artists focused more on mental inactivity than physical laziness.

Sources

Zaczek, I., & O’Mahony, M. (2002). Essential art deco. Internet Arhive. Paragon Publishing. https://archive.org/details/essentialartdeco0000zacz_q0i3.

You may also be interested in

Handel Company (1885 – 1936) American Lighting Company

American Lighting firm The Handel Company was founded in Meriden, Connecticut, in 1885 and created lamps and glass designs over the years. The business was incorporated in 1903.Read More →
Émile Bernaux (1883 – 1970) French sculptor and furniture designer

Émile Bernaux was a French sculptor and furniture designer. He was born in Paris in 1883.Read More →
Paris Exposition des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes (1925)

Paris Exposition des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes was a vital exhibition that gave its name to ‘Art Deco,’ a rich vein of design across a wide range of applications, from cinemas to ceramics, textiles and tableware, and graphics to graphs.Read More →
Robert Bonfils (1886 – 1972) French Graphic Artist

Born in Paris, Robert Bonfils was a French graphic artist, painter, and designer. He studied at the École Germain-Pilon in 1903 and at the École Nationale des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 1906. He worked for Henri Hamm, a furniture designer. His work included paintings, bookbindings, ceramics for Sèvres, Bianchini-Frerier silk, wallpaper and interior design layouts.…
Suzanne Belperron (1900 – 1983) French Jewellery Designer

Suzanne Belporren was a French jewellery designer. Her career flourished in the 1920s and 1930s. Belperron produced numerous designs of sculptured jewellery for René Boivin’s Paris shop. She subsequently opened her own Paris shop called Herz-Belperron. Her designs often featured glass encrusted with gemstones.Read More →
SS. Normandie Art Deco Palace

The ship, its decor, and furniture reflected everything stylish, sophisticated, forward-thinking, and French when it was launched in the age of grand style, a decade after the successful exposition of modern design at the 1925 Paris exhibition.Read More →
Raymond Subes (1893 – 1970) French metalsmith

Raymond Subes (1893–1970) was a French metalsmith. He made ironwork for the oceanliners 1931 Atlantique, 1926 Ile-de-France, Pasteur, and 1935 Normandie. After World War II, he worked as a metalworker and became the head of Borderel et Robert.Read More →
Georges Dunaime – Art Deco -French Designer

Georges Dunaime designed lighting for E. Etling, the designer and engraver. His work included table lamps, torchéeres, and chandeliers made of silver, gilt, and patinated bronze with shades made of cloth, cut glass, quartz, marble, and alabaster.Read More →
Sydney Art Deco by Peter Sheridan

*Longlisted for the Indie Book Awards 2020 for Illustrated Non-Fiction* For the first time, Sydney’sRead More →
Pavilion de l’Esprit Nouveau (1925) Looking into the Future

L’Esprit Nouveau. The pavillion was named after Le Corbusier’s magazine, L’Esprit Nouveau, which he started in 1920 to spread the word about his own work and that of other artists of the time.Read More →
What is a Monogram?

A monogram is a single symbol made up of one or more letters. Every aspect of an individual’s taste and fancy can be accommodated with a monogram. Monograms differ significantly, and there are of a great variety of design. There are so many different types and combinations of the same letters that no two persons…
Garniture – Decorative set of Porcelain

Usually on a fireplace mantel. Garnitures were put on furniture and ledges or niches around a room’s walls, notably over doors or fireplaces.Read More →
La Paresse (1924 – 1925) by George Barbier

George Barbier, a French graphic artist, created this scene of cultured decadence. It is a pochoir print based on a 1924 watercolor; it appeared in the following year’s fashion annual, Falbalas et Fanfreluches. Read More →
Silver and twentieth-century design

The impact of silver metal technology has driven the development of modern furnishings throughout the 20th century. The transformation of a chair into a sculptural statement, for example. Interior metal objects have not always been at the forefront of modern design within a multi-function. With the emphasis on warmth and comfort in the home, the…
Jean Puiforcat (1897 – 1945) French Art Deco Silversmith

His silver work was based on the geometric series and had smooth surfaces. Pieces were embellished with ivory, onyx, lapis lazuli, and rosewood. He also used gilding.Read More →
Eugene Schoen (1880 – 1957) was an American architect and designer

He set up his architecture practice in New York in 1905 and, after visiting the 1925 Paris ‘Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes.’ He began offering interior design services. In 1931, he became a professor of interior architecture at New York University. He sold his own and imported textiles and furniture and Maurice…
Jacques-Émile Ruhlmann (1879 – 1933) outstanding furniture designer

Jacques-Émile Ruhlmann (1879 – 1933) was a French designer who was born and lived in Paris. n 1907, he took over his father’s house painting company in Paris. He first exhibited his work in 1911, with architect Charles Plumet and couturier Jacques Doucet, Frantz Jourdain, and Tony Selmersheim.Read More →
Paul Kiss (1885 – 1962) Hungarian Metal worker

Paul Kiss was Hungarian metalworker he was born Belabalva (now Romania). He was professionally active in Paris. Read More →
Damon (1920s & 1930s) French lighting design firm

Damon was located at 4 avenue Pierre-I-de-Serbie in Paris during the 1920s and 1930s. It was well-known for its innovative use of glass in lighting fixtures, with white glass designs that provided a dazzling effect without glare.Read More →
Donald Deskey (1894 – 1989) an American industrial, furniture and interior designer

Donald Deskey was an American industrial, furniture, and interior designer. He was born in Blue Earth, Minnesota. He was professionally active in New York. He may have lacked the European sophistication and architectural training of his friend Paul Frankl. However, he created a uniquely American modern style that combined streamlining with French Art Deco taste.Read…
Gabriel Englinger (1898 – 1983) French artist, decorator, furniture designer

He worked in the Galeries Lafayette department store’s La Maitrise design workshop from 1922 to 1928. At the same time, he worked for Cornille as a designer and furniture builder. Studio Abran created a 1928 boudoir and a 1929 work cabinet and smoking stand, among other ensembles. Read More →
André Groult (1884 – 1967) French interior designer and furniture designer

André Groult (1884 – 1967) was a French interior designer and furniture designer who contributed to the Art Deco movement. Curving and organic shapes, as well as vibrant materials, characterised his work. As a result, his art has been described as a blend of tradition and modernism.Read More →
The Decorative Thirties (hardcover 1988)

The decorative thirties began in the 1930s and follows the era’s elegance until the end of World War II. The book deals with the arts and objets d’art of the ’30s in their most outrageous form.Read More →
Nikola Olic’s Playful Facade Photos ‘Reimagine’ Their Subjects

Nikola Olic – a Serbian photographer based in Dallas , Texas – focuses on “ architectural photography and abstract structural quotes that reimagine their subjects in playful, dimensionless and disorienting ways.” Often isolating elements of a facade , which obscures the viewer’s sense of scale and perspective, Olic provides short descriptions of each image, acting…
The Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris

The Musée des Arts Décoratifs (Museum of Decorative Arts) is a museum dedicated to the exhibition and conservation of decorative arts. Located at 107 Rue de Rivoli in the city’s 1st arrondissement, the museum occupies the northwest wing of the Palais du Louvre, known as the Pavillon de Marsan (Marsan Pavilion). With more than one…
William Van Alen (1883 – 1954) American architect (Chrysler Building)

William Van Alen (1883 – 1954) was an American architect born in Brooklyn, New York. He was professionally active in New York.Read More →
Webb Corbett British glassware manufacturer

Webb Corbett is a British glassware manufacturer, located in Stourbridge.Irene Stevens joined Webb Corbett as a designer in 1946. L. Green designed its 1958 Bouquet range of cut glass. David Marquess of Queensberry was retained as a consultant designer in the early 1960s.Read More →
French fabrics in the art deco style

Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann | “Sarrazin” Textile | The Metropolitan Museum of Art Ruhlmann used the sameRead More →