Day Three – Wednesday, October 22nd

By the time we left our Airbnb, the over-night rain had passed.  The sun started to peak through the parting clouds and though damp, not too cold. We made our way through the Place du Trocadéro to the auditorium of the Cité de l’Architecture for the Wednesday morning lectures.

As with the previous morning we enjoyed our coffee, juice and croissants before settling in for the lectures.

Lectures

The morning began with a welcome and a history of the International Coalition of Art Deco Societies (ICADS), by artist / author and president of the founding president of the Art Deco Society of the Palm Beaches, Sharon Koskoff.

Following this welcoming address were the four morning lectures. All were excellent, but the one that stood out the most to us was the one given by Lucile Trunel about Parisian department stores involvement at the 1925 exposition.

The Art Workshops of the Grand Department Stores, Showcases of Art Deco

Lucile Trunel, chief librarian and director of the Forney Library, delivered her lecture immediately after the mid-morning break. The Forney Library, renowned for its focus on decorative arts, crafts, and applied and graphic arts, provided an apt context for her presentation. Trunel explored the origins of artist workshops between 1900 and 1924 and their collaborations with major Parisian department stores. She highlighted developments ranging from Paul Poiret’s Martine Workshop, founded in 1911, to Paul Follot’s Pomone workshop created for the Bon Marché in 1922.

 

After lunch, the various groups of Congress attendees departed the Cité de l’Architecture for their respective afternoon tours. Our group boarded a bus to the Musée des Arts Décoratifs for the opening day of 1925–2025: A Century of Art Deco.

Some Sites Seen from the Bus

Musée des Arts Décoratifs

1925-2025, A Century of Art Deco

The museum also had running an exhibit on legendary Parisian fashion designer, Paul Poiret (1879 – 1944), Paul Poiret, Fashion is a Celebration.

After a short walk from where the bus dropped us off, we arrived at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs. We needed to wait outside the main entrance briefly to coordinate with our museum tour guide. However, the day was pleasant and partly sunny, so none of us minded getting a bit of fresh air.

1925-2025. One Hundred Years of Art Deco will be running through April 26, 2026 and is one of the most spectacular exhibits ever curated on the interwar style.

Journey to the heart of the Roaring Twenties’ creativity and its heritage masterpieces with the exhibition. Sculptural furniture, precious jewelry, objets d’art, drawings, posters and fashion pieces: nearly 1,000 works tell the story of the richness, elegance and contradictions of a style that continues to fascinate.

                madparis.fr

I can’t begin to tell you how exciting this exhibit is and how much that we enjoyed seeing it, despite the hoards of people. On display were so many objects that we’ve only seen in books. And immediately upon entering the exhibit is one Art Deco’s most iconic pieces, ironworker Edgar Brandt (1880 – 1960) L’Oasis screen (1924).

“The formal symmetry of the screen and the small scrolls reflect Brandt’s early, classically feminine repertoire, while various newer elements allude to the emerging style moderne. The ripples of falling water and the crimped gearlike flowers also show the influence of a machine-inspired aesthetic, with its emphasis on movement and speed”.

         Kahr, Joan, ed. (2010). Edgar Brandt. art deco ironwork. Atglen, Pa: Schiffer. Pg. 143

At the center of the five-panel brass and iron screen is a “frozen fountain,” a celebrated decorative motif emblematic of the Art Deco era.

The Frozen Fountain

Jet d’Eau panel by René Lalique (1860 – 1945). Frosted and clear glass featuring a stylized water fountain motif. Created for the facade of the ticket office at the 1925 International Exposition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts.

Édouard Bénédictus’ (1878 – 1930) cotton and rayon textile Les Jets d’Eau (1925). Woven by Brunet-Meunié et Cie.

Léon-Charles Follot (1869 – 1933), wallpaper manufacturer, 1920. Continuous mechanical printed paper in four colors. Aluminum impregnated paint used to add shine.

Art Deco Bas-Reliefs and Medallions

Bas-reliefs by the twin sculptors Jan and Joël Martel (1895–1966), executed in their signature style that fuses Cubist abstraction with realism. The works feature simplified, stylized figures built from strong geometric forms, balancing modernist structure with recognizable human and architectural elements.

Raymond Delamarre (1890 – 1986) medallions. Perseus and Andromeda (left) and Nessus and Deianira.

 

Metalwork

Some of the furniture in the exhibit

 

Furniture by Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann

Eileen Gray

Study-Library of the French Embassy

Another highlight of the exhibition is Pierre Chareau’s (1883–1950) Study–Library, created for the “French Embassy” pavilion at the 1925 Exposition. The circular room was covered by a dome and lined with palm-wood walls, some of which held built-in bookshelves. At the center was a desk with angled corners and an armchair, placed on a rug decorated with a stylized mermaid designed by Jean Lurçat (1892–1966).

Art Deco for the Home

Poster Art

Art Deco in Fashion

Art Deco Influence on Travel

Transportation whether by land, sea or air was not immune to the influence of the Art Deco movement. The expression of speed and sleekness is a recurring motif in textiles, jewelry, and tableware. Gleaming chrome and luxury fabrications are integral to the deco period.

 

Deco Accessories

 

The Revival of the Orient Express

Famous in it’s day  as one of the most luxurious ways of travel, the Orient Express is perhaps best known as the setting for Agatha’s Christie’s book, and subsequent films, The Murder on the Orient Express.

The once abandoned carriages found on the Poland / Belarus border serve as the inspiration rather than a faithful reproduction for the new car scheduled to be put into service in 2027.

Notifications

A notable decorative feature of the original cars are the father and daughter Lalique panels. Examples of the pressed glass molded onto silver leaf are included in the museum display.

These originally decorated the Cote d’Azur Pullman, also known as the Blue Train (another Agatha Christie reference!) The father / daughter team worked on several monumental projects together including the fire pot for the S.S. Normandie dining room.

What we have shown in this post is only a small sample of this wonderful exhibit running till April 26, 2026.

Paul Poiret, Fashion is a Celebration

With about 45 minutes left before meeting the bus, we decided to visit the Paul Poiret exhibit.

Poiret (1879-1944) born to humble beginnings, worked himself up from apprentice umbrella maker to independent couturier. One of his first successes was a mantle (cape) used on stage by the actress  Réjane in a play called Zaza, In marketing to the theatres, his once thought of as too forward thinking designs, literally found their audience.

He opened his Maison in 1903 and moving away from petticoats and corsets while opting for loose-fitting designs for the slender figure.

His Maison became another causality of World War I.  Returning from service, he found his business on the brink of bankruptcy. His ornate clothing, beautiful at a distance, but not as well made up close, were eclipsed by new simple, sleek and well produced clothing by designers such as Chanel.

Poiret closed his house in 1929, working at odd jobs until his death. HIs friend from pre-WWI, France Martano, often entertained hm in her home to ensue he was food secure, Almost forgotten when he died, another friend, Elsa Schiaparelli paid for his funeral.

Featured in the exhibit are Poiret fashion art prints for advertisements original sketches.

 

The exhibit is broken into several rooms to provide a mix of mediums for the patron’s enjoyment. Included are examples of fashion influenced directly by Poiret.

This is only a small sampling of the creations on exhibit. And due to time constraints, we could only visit half of the two story exhibit.

After a quick dash through the Musée des Arts Décoratifs’ store, we rushed to the designated pickup spot to catch the bus back to Place du Trocadéro.

We were on our own for dinner that night, and our Airbnb host recommended a spot just around the corner. We showed up right after it opened at 7:30, but it was already fully booked, so back to Le Wilson we went.

A nice convenience in Paris are the Sanisettes. These are public restrooms and are often free. They are not gender or gender expression specific.

A foggy and misty night, the search light on the Eiffel Tower was, at times, the only thing visible of the structure itself.

Chris & Anthony (The Freakin’ Tiquen Guys)

Sources

Online

architecturaldigest.com

europeana.eu

lagoradesarts.fr

madparis.fr

Written

17th World Congress on Art Deco© Program