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Writer's pictureJanette Champion

Visual Culture - Week 12 Post - Early Modernism /Art Movement Research 2

Updated: Jun 1, 2023

Art Deco


Art Deco originated in Paris, even though it originated in France it has still made an impact on architecture and culture as a whole. Art Deco artworks are geometric, pleasing to the eye and symmetrical. This movement is the contrast to avant-grande art, which was a way to find mesmerizing and meaningful information from normal and traditional images and forms. Art Deco is a modern art movement which infuses objects with artistic influences.


In Relation to Graphic design, Art Deco's main features are geometry, colour and typography. Graphic design is a way to communicate visually with people.


Fig.1- Patriotic War Poster (1942)- Jean Carlu

Fig.2- Pivolo Apertif Aux Vins De France (1924) - A.M Cassandre Fig.3- Nord Express (1927) - A.M Cassandre


A famous Graphic Designer during this art movement was Adolphe Mouron Cassandre, he was a famous Painter and was born on the 24th of January 1901in Kharkiv, Ukraine and died on the 17th of June 1968 in Pariz, France. He attended Académie Julian in Paris, France. He was known best for his sleek and eye-catching but subtle posters, which were used as tools to promote alcohol, furniture and travel. In this Fig.2, there is a bird that is positioned behind a glass of liqueur. He made sure to display a harmonious relationship between all elements in this poster. Fig.3 shows a nice-looking image of a train facing a horizon, with a faint look of smoke and sky above it. It was included in the V and A exhibition in 2003, and Adolphe used this to advertise travel.

During his time, inventions like radios, aeroplanes, computers and televisions were discovered.


ART NOUVEAU


Art Nouveau was considered to be the first "modern' style. It was the first time designs were advertised and promoted through mass communication. It is the first attempt by Western culture to create something new. The invention of Personal computers and the internet was a way to make selling and showcasing art more convenient. In between these years (1890- 1914) the role of women was changing and the artworks were focusing more on beauty, nature and optimism.


Graphic design was a core part of the time period, Art Nouveau this is because posters were m mainly used in advertising and promoting stuff and that was one of the best ways to reach a whole audience.


Fig.4- The Precious Stones- Alphonse Mucha (1900)

Fig.5- The Dancer's Reward (1892) Aubery Beardsley Fig.6- Palais de Glace Champs Elysées (1893)- Jules Chéret


Fig 5, was done by an English illustrator called Aubrey Vincent Beardsley who was born on the 21st of August 1872 in Sussex, England and died on the 16th March 1898 in Menton, Alpes-Maritimes, French Third Republic. His artworks are mainly with black ink which was influenced by Japanese woodcuts according to Wikipedia. He had a very huge part in contributing art to the Art Nouveau Movement, but he was hated for drawing rated paintings in his artworks. This artwork represents fertility and Lysistrata is incapable of mating without Myrrhina, and the black stockings were to symbolize extra-marital sex. Fig 6, was made by a French painter named Jules Chéret who was born on 31st May 1836 in Paris, France and died on the 23rd of September 1932 in Nice, France. This shows a woman as the main subject and a male shadow in the background.


Image List:


Fig.1- Carlu, J.(1942) 1942 patriotic war poster [Poster] Retrieved from:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Carlu#/media/File:JeanCarluProduction.jpg [Assessed on 6 May 2023]


Fig.2- Cassandre, A.M(1924) Pivolo Apertif Aux Vins De France [poster] Retrieved from:https://www.google.com/search?newwindow=1&tbm=isch&q=A.M.%20Cassandre%20Pivolo%20Aperitif%20Aux%20Vins%20De%20France%20(1924) [Assessed 6 May 2023]


Fig.3- Cassandre, A.M (1927) Nord Express [poster] Retrieved from: https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O89673/nord-express-poster-cassandre-adolphe-mouron/ [Assessed 6 May 2023]


Fig.4- Alphonse, M. (1900) The Precious Stones [posters] Retrieved from:https://visualartsdepartment.wordpress.com/art-nouveau/ [Assessed on the 6th of May 2023]


Fig.5- Beardsley, A. (1892) The Dancer's Reward [drawing] Retrieved from: https://www.thedolphingallery.com/8-most-famous-art-nouveau-paintings/ [Asssessed on the 6th of May 2023]


Fig.6- Chéret, J. (1893) Palais de Glace Champs Elysées [poster] Retrieved from: https://www.moma.org/collection/works/5140 [Assessed 6 March 2023]


Reference List:


Gregersen, E. (2019). History of Technology Timeline. In: Encyclopædia Britannica. [online] Available at: https://www.britannica.com/story/history-of-technology-timeline. [Assessed 6 May 2023]


Jules Chéret | French artist. (2019). In: Encyclopædia Britannica. [online] Available at: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jules-Cheret. [Accessed 6 May 2023.]


The Art Story. (n.d.). Art Deco Movement Overview. [online] Available at:


Tate (n.d.). Aubrey Beardsley 1872-1898. [online] Tate. Available at: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/aubrey-beardsley-716. [Assessed 6 May 2023]





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