Our late residential and commercial building at Stolzenbergstr. 26 in Baden-Baden has been sold. 1,500 square meters must be cleared in the next few weeks.
Take the opportunity to find attractive offers from our high quality assortment.
It is in my nature to seek out exceptional Art Deco pieces. Hence why we will continue to be there for you at the Baden-Baden location – albeit in a modified form, that is we will be welcoming customers from here on out solely in the adjacent showrooms.
Hardly any other 20th century artistic trend can rival Art Deco in encapsulating the optimism and the spirit of the society of classical modernism. The focus is on sensuality, elegance, expressive colours and expensive materials – in short: it is the decorative elements that dominate, not any underlying formalised style. Anything is possible. Since a specific style is always a reflection of a specific time, it is not surprising that Art Deco is characterised instead by its ethos: an abstraction of style.
About Max Le Verrier
There can be no better example of this ethos than the life of one of its most famous proponents: Max Le Verrier. Born on January 29, 1891 in Paris, the capital of Art Deco, his life reflects the spirit of the time and the striving for independence that characterised his era.
Max Le Verrier at Paris Zoo, where he found inspiration for his works.
During World War I, he served as a pilot in a French bomber squadron. During the conflict he was captured and made a German prisoner of war in Münster, where he was given access to tools for sculpture. And thus the Parisian goldsmith’s son followed in his father’s footsteps in the fine arts.
It was no surprise then when in 1918 Le Verrier opened his own art studio, from where he devoted his life to his creative activity. It was here that he created his first works in terracotta and white bronze, as well as his famous statue “Pelican”. Using casting, chiselling and patina, Le Verrier cared for all aspects of production of his works completely unaided and by hand. To this day the Max Le Verrier Workshop is faithful to his standards. Each step is carried out by hand in the in-house atelier to ensure the authenticity and high quality of the objects produced.
His Legacy
Max Le Verrier’s entire life was characterised by his artistic drive. In the course of his work, the collection grew considerably. Animal figures, for which Le Verrier sought inspiration in zoos and circuses, were just as much a part of his portfolio as statuettes, male figures, dancers, lamps and bookends. Even the uncertain period of the German occupation and World War II could not stop his creativity. Even on his deathbed, 3 days before he died, he completed work on a sculpture of a panther – a popular Art Deco motif.
Max Le Verrier died on June 6, 1973, at the age of 82, but his legacy is very much alive today. After his death, his son Jean-Paul took over the running of his father’s company. Since 1996, it has been continued into the third generation by his great-grandson Damien Blanchet Le Verrier.
His enormous legacy is not just due to the great diversity and motifs of his work. His ability to harmonise modern with traditional gives his work a currency and timelessness that is still appreciated by connoisseurs and enthusiasts today. In this tradition, the Paris workshop still produces immortal treasures from Max Le Verrier’s legacy. Which brings us to one of his most ground-breaking and famous pieces.
Clarté
Besonders Le Verriers Frauenfiguren, welche sich durch ihre biegsamen, athletischen und symmetrischen Körper auszeichneten, machten ihn bekannt. Sein Hauptwerk ist wohl die 1928 entstandende Clarté, eine stilisierte Frau mit beleuchtetem Ball – ein wiederkehrendes Motiv im Schaffen Max Le Verriers.
It was Le Verrier’s female figures, characterised by their lithe, athletic and symmetrical bodies, which made his name. His masterpiece is probably “Clarté”, created in 1928, a stylised female figure with an illuminated ball – a recurring motif in Max Le Verrier’s oeuvre.
Max Le Verrier working on “Clarte” in his atelier
No fewer than three women were used as models for this piece: one for the head, one for the torso and one for the legs. For the latter, an African-American dancer who appeared in Josephine Baker’s shows was used.
With her characteristic hairstyle and clear, simple lines, this statue reflects the Art Deco period like no other. It also shows the Max Le Verrier’s strong creative spirit. His work takes up the theme of the female nude in a very aesthetic and playful way. In fact, the pose and motif are reminiscent of Pandia, the ancient goddess of light in Greek mythology. Here, too, we can clearly discern Le Verrier’s gift of uniting traditional and modern.
The celebrated Clarté
Auch im Online Showroom von Art Déco 1925 können Sie die Clarté und weitere Werke des berühmten Max Le Verrier bestaunen und erstehen. Schauen Sie doch rein.
The Clarté statue has been shown at a number of important exhibitions, including “Lumieres” at the Georges-Pompidou Centre in Paris, the “Made in France” exhibition at the world-famous Harrods store in London and “De Main de Maitre” at the Grand Palais in Paris. Two copies adorn the Hotel Lutetia in Paris. “Clarté” is still just as popular as ever as a motif among connoisseurs. This piece is available in 4 sizes: an almost life-size bronze 1.70 metres high (CLARTÉ); another of 85 cm; as well as 2 smaller versions of 65 cm (LUMINA) and 38 cm (LUEUR LUMINEUSE, respectively).
You can also admire and purchase Max Le Verrier’s “Clarté” as well as other pieces from this renowned artist in Art Déco 1925’s online showroom. Please come and take a look.
It’s here at last! Art Déco 1925’s new website aims to grab your attention with its innovative design and informative content. We are also proud to present our new online showroom which is constantly being updated with new Art Deco objects and furnishings as well as featuring the return of others.
This would be a good place to offer our heartfelt thanks to the KIMDESIGN branding agency, which has done a thoroughly professional job of converting our vision into reality. At every stage from the photo shoot to the design through to the content, they have constantly provided us with innovative ideas.
And now we really hope you have a lot of fun reading, browsing and shopping on our website!
There has never been a fixed Art Deco style. The name did not really gain widespread recognition until the 1966 exhibition “Les Années 25” at the Paris Museum of Decorative Arts. Since that 1966 exhibition, it has become customary to use the term “Art Deco” for all sorts of things from the interwar period (approximately 1920 to 1940).
But we can trace the name back further, probably to 1925 when the international “Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes” exhibition was held in Paris. Hence the name of our company, “Art Déco 1925”, was chosen as a fitting tribute to that exhibition by Uwe Marbs when he founded his antiques business in 1989.
However, the term “Art Deco” is not only used in the decorative arts. It also describes the “zeitgeist” of those two decades.
“If you want to describe an era, it is not so important what survived from that time, aso much as the strength of the spirit that it breathed” (Ludwig Marcuse, German philosopher and writer, 1894-1971)
The Great War changed the world. The 20 short years after the First World War were characterised by the desire to forget, by dreams and visions – not by reality.
“For those who were young then, that time shone in golden splendour. Those who were old could only watch on… full of melancholy, as a world they had loved fell apart. For those that followed, the picture will always be tinged with darkness from the knowledge of what came next” (Peter Bamm, dt. Journalist und Schriftsteller, 1897-1975)
An era we now know as the “Roaring Twenties” began with a penchant for slimline precision, for cool and discreet colours, for hard, metallic sheen and for elegantly-drawn contours. That era was characterised by ideologically conditioned edginess, succinctness, brightness, transparency, sensitivity in choice of materials, clarity, as well as by its objectivity. In art and crafts and in painting, in interior design, sculpture and architecture, the commitment to fine contours and decorative shapes was as important as the use of beautiful and expensive materials, such as ivory and rare tropical woods. Influenced by Cubism and Expressionism, the arc of Art Deco covers a huge span: from veneer furniture by various renowned artists, such as Jacques-Émile Ruhlmann, Jules Leleu and Dominique; via delicate glasswork by Sabino, Etling and Charles Schneider; to painstakingly detailed sculptures by Demetre Chiparus, Ferdinand Preiss and Joé Descomps, to say nothing of jewellery by René Lalique; right the way through the erotically enchanting paintings of Louis Icart. And if, as they say, a single shard of clay may provide information about a culture that has been swallowed up by history – how much more does a chrome-plated octagonal king’s chandelier by Petitot say about those two short decades!
Art Deco is rightly regarded as the most exciting epoch in the art history of the past century. That era has had a huge impact on our own – in areas ranging from technology to morality. Today, the art of those years is enjoying increasing popularity. So there must be parallels between then and now. Thoughts, shapes and sounds seem to take on new meaning and are reborn in new guises. Art Deco combines history and modernity in a fascinating way and will doubtless continue to cast its spell on us on into the future.
Quellen:
ART DECO 1920-1940, by Paul Menz, 3rd edition of 1984 published by DuMont Buchverlag, Köln
ART DECO, by Albrecht Bangert / Gabriele Fahr-Becker, published in 1992 by Wilhelm Heyne Verlag GmbH & Co. KG, Munich
