Skira Dictionary of Modern Decorative Arts: 1851 - 1942 - Hardcover

Terraroli, Valerio

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 8884910250 ISBN 13: 9788884910257

Publisher: Skira, 2001

Synopsis

The "Skira Dictionary of Modern Decorative Arts" spans, under nearly one thousand headings, a period defined by two crucial events in the intricate history of the transition from artisanal production of the decorative arts to industrial design: the London World Fair, that opened in 1851 in Joseph Paxton's Crystal Palace, and the E42, designed for Rome and that, owing to the Second World War, was never carried out. Practically a century of history and of an artistic evolution that, arisen from the agelong, consummate technical, material and creative legacy of the European art craftsmanship of the preceding centuries, also took into account industrial production and the radical changes of society and taste that occurred in Europe and the United States between the second half of the nineteenth century and the 1950's
The "Dictionary," enhanced by over three hundred illustrations, provides information, critical commentaries, historical data about artists, designers, manufactories, laboratories, techniques and materials connected with glass and crystal, silverware and jewellery, processed metals, textiles and furnishings, pottery and porcelain, furniture, offering an appendix featuring a concise bibliography "raisonne" and a repertory of trademarks, related to pottery production, of of signatures and trademarks of artists working in the various fields. Perusual of the individual headings and the illustrations allows to review the history and the evolution of the decorative arts in Europe and the Unites States from Biedermeier to the eclectic and historicist taste, from international modernism, with its different Secessions and liberty versions, to art deco, from Novecento style up toindustrial design.

About this title

Synopsis:

The Dictionary of Modern Decorative Arts covers more than a century of artistic creations in the modern decorative arts - in Europe and the United States - focusing on changing tastes and styles. Starting from the first universal exhibition held in London in 1851 at the legendary Crystal Palace, it closes with the decisive market and production trend towards Industrial Design after World War II and in the early 1950s in particular. The Dictionary contains approximately 900 clear and concise entries, providing readers, scholars, collectors or just the curious with precise information, technical data, stylistic characters and distinctive features of the artists, factories, forms and models peculiar to the decorative arts - from Biedermeier to industrial design. Arranged in alphabetical order, the entries address a variety of types, e.g. majolica, porcelain, furnishings, fabrics, silver, gold, metal, plastic, glass and enamel, divided by execution technique and materials used, factories and workshops, artists, craftsmen and designers, types of style and taste-all accompanied by more than 300 pictures illustrating the objects of particular importance.

In order to allow the most complete and, above all, best use of the Dictionary, the author has written a short information-packed introduction that traces the course of the modern decorative arts through the changing styles and major exhibitions as well as a number of appendices that include an annotated reference bibliography divided by subject; graphic reproduction of the marks of the European and American pottery, porcelain and silver manufacturers, a useful repertoire for collectors, antique dealers and art lovers; a clear map of museums in Europe and the United States devoted specifically to the decorative arts and an annotated index of names arranged by subject.

About this edition

• Publisher: Skira
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 8884910250
• ISBN 13: 9788884910257
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 320