Art Nouveau: The French Aesthetic (hardcover)

Art Nouveau: the French Aesthetic

by Victor Arwas

Rarely has a subject been served by a book of this stature. Five years in the making, it covers all aspects of Art Nouveau in France in 624 authoritative pages and 740 illustrations.

Art Nouveau was controversial even in France. It took its name from the Paris emporium opened by Siegfried Bing. Le Figaro denounced it as having “the smell of the Englishman, of the Jewess or the cunning Belgian.” (Sunday Telegraph)

Arwas traces the evolution of the movement as it developed, primarily in Nancy and Paris, with the help of carefully chosen illustrations, many never published before. Ranging from the 1900 Paris exhibition to paintings, graphics and posters and such collecting fields as furniture, jewellery, ceramics, book bindings and sculpture, the informative, witty text ranges over architecture, haute couture, and the role of women in Art Nouveau with a detailed look at such theatrical icons as Sarah Bernhardt, Loïe Fuller and the Grandes Horizontales.

Destined to become the standard book on the subject, content and design will appeal widely to the connoisseur, the specialist and the collector, and the novice who will be introduced to the magical wonders of the style.

About the Author

“Victor Arwas died in 2010. Art Nouveau, the French Aesthetic, was his magnum opus. His conversation was always instructive and not pedantic. His taste was accurate as it was at times licentious; his appetite refined and insatiable; his humour at once generous and disabused. Without pretentiousness, he took art more seriously than life, though never solemnly. He also had an unequalled reputation for integrity and honesty, matching acumen with generosity and fidelity with fancy.” (The Guardian)

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Little is known about the early life of France’s most distinguished type designer Claude Garamond, though he is mentioned as being “at work” in the printing business early in the sixteenth century, Garamond was commissioned by the French monarch, Francis I, to cut a font of Greek letter which later became known as the “Royal Greek Type.” Read More →
Primerose Bordier (1929 – 1995) French textile designer

Primrose Bordier (1929 – 1995) was a French designer known for her colourful and innovative home textiles. She studied at the Atelier Charpentier 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 →
Staub Cookware – Benefits of Cast Iron Cooking Pots

For over 2000 years, cast iron cooking pots have been used. They have long been valued for their durability and heat retention capacity, and it is not uncommon for these valuable items to be passed down from generation to generation. The addition of enamelling is now a significant advancement in this traditional material.Read More →
Jaque Klein (1899 – 1963) French Decorator & Furniture Designer

Jaque Klein was a French decorator and furniture designer. In 1942, he founded his firm, 31 rue de Miromesnil, Paris, after designing wallpaper and rugs for the Galeries Lafayette department store in Paris. Delepoulle and Gouffe both made some of his furniture.Read More →
Ronald-Cecil Sportes – French architect and designer

Ronald-Cecil Sportes is a French architect and designer. He was born Orleanville (Algeria) and professionally active in Paris. He studied at the Ecole des Arts Appliques et des Metiers d’Arts, Paris. Read More →
PLUMY sofa by Annie Hiéronimus ⚜️

The Plumy line was inspired by the 1980s and is a revival of the famous model that first debuted over 35 years ago. Plumy’s enveloping design is the ultimate of comfort and relaxation, made entirely of bonded blocks of polyether and Bultex polyurethane foams of various densities.Read More →
Kafa Stool by Luca Erba | Good Design ♥️

The Kafa Stool is a subtle proclamation of weight, excellent as a compositional counter-balance or a lone anecdote, both physically and compositionally substantial. This stool, which comes in marble or oak, has an intense physicality that is gently offset by the curved focus of its design.Read More →
Pierre Patout (1879 – 1965) French Architect and Designer

Following the war, he collaborated with his friend Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann, a decorator. They worked together on designs for the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts, which took place in Paris from April to October 1925 and gave the style its name. Read More →
René Prou (1913 – 1991) French Interior & Furniture Designer

In 1908, he developed his first piece for the Gouffé furniture company in Paris. He later rose to the position of chief designer. He designed the council chamber of the Comptoir d’Escompte in Paris and the apartment of the French ambassador in Paraguay in 1912, earning him the title of “first designer of the goût moderne.”Read More →