Virtual tour
Sources
Art Deco, like its forerunner Art Nouveau, was an eclectic style and drew on many sources.
Art Deco designers sought to infuse jaded traditions with new life and to create a modern style based on a revitalized decorative language. To do so, they borrowed from historic European styles, as well as from the pictorial inventions of contemporary avantgarde
art, the rich colours and exotic themes of the Ballets Russes, and the urban imagery of the machine age.
They also drew on more distant and ancient cultures. The arts of Africa and East Asia provided rich sources of forms and materials. Recent archaeological discoveries fuelled a romantic fascination with early Egypt and Meso-America.
This section explores these diverse sources in the following six groups:
- Egypt and the Classical World
- Meso-America
- East Asia and Africa
- The Avant Garde
- Art Nouveau
- National Traditions
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