Virtual tour
The Classical World
After the horrors of the First World War many designers sought out the themes and lyrical imagery of the Classical worlds of ancient Greece and Rome. Subjects such as the Flight of Europa or Pallas Athena became popular, while the huntress and dancing maenad appeared in designs for everything from textiles and wallpapers to moulded glass and ceramic vessels.
The figure was central to the practice of many Art Deco designers. The sculptors Carl Milles and Paul Manshipexperimented with the classical nude, both free-standing and as a motif in relief decoration. Others explored the simple, stylized forms of the archaic sculptural traditions.
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