This course explores French interior design and decorative arts from the late 19th to the mid 20th century. The starting point will be the development and varied expression of the style called "l'Art Nouveau," a decisive break from the historical revivalism that characterized 19th-century design. The course will also address the 1925 Paris Exposition Internationale des Arts Dcoratifs et Industriels Modernes, the event that gave birth to the term "Art Dco" and brought widespread attention to modern decorative and applied arts for the first time. This exhibition showcased new designers, such as Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann and Jean Dunand. During the middle decades of the 20th century creators such as Jean Prouv and Jean Royre applied the experience of modernity to a wider market.
