Relevant categories: Bronzes,Art Deco,Lamps and Lighting
(Above photo - Art Deco Figurines - Large Range from Canonbury Antiques )
In 1903, Koloman Moser and Josef Hoffman established a workshop that promoted elegant interior design. They were based in Vienna, even though their style was influenced mainly by the Art Nouveau style from England and Scotland. The two interior designers didn’t know that they were laying the foundation for the Art Deco style. In 1925, the fruits came to bear with a showcasing of all types of design items in a Paris exhibition.
Art Deco Figurines
(Above photo - Art Deco Bronze Dancer Engime Girl Lamp Figurine Obelisk Clarte Biba Light )
Art deco is a comprehensive style that has been applied to furniture, architecture, art, and sculpture. Talking of sculpture, artists have mainly trained their efforts to creating statues and figurines. In most cases, art deco figurines feature elegant female dancers. They showed the trim femininity of women dancers with the highest levels of sensuality. The figurines portray the female dancers in varied positions – some nude, others well-dressed. Rarely would you find art deco figurines depicting ordinary women?
Artists used different materials to make art deco figurines. Thus, there are figurines made from bronze, marble, and porcelain. While most artists ensured the dancers retain the original colors of the materials, others had them painted. But it didn’t end there. Some figurines were accentuated even further using glass, gold, or nacre.
(Above photo - Art Deco Figurine - Mask Dancer by Joe Descomps ) However, the different types of materials weren’t loved in equal measure. That’s why bronze figurines appear to be more popular than the rest. Where bronze was used, the figurine would be made to stand on a marble base. We have said that figurines mostly depicted dancing women. In some instances, they represented animals with intense colors. In most cases, artists painted the animal figurines with predators such as birds of prey, tigers, and wolves claiming sitting at the very top.
Role of Figurines in Art Deco
(Above photo - Antinea Egyptian Art Deco Bronze Figurine Chiparus )
Overall art deco represented beauty and sensuality. Thus, art deco figurines were expected to represent something much more than everyday functionality. Yet, the sculptures were still very functional. For example, some figurines were created as part of more essential items like furniture or lamps. By and large, the figurines created for aesthetic reasons.
(Above photo - Art Deco Bronze Statue by Joe Descomps Beauty of Paris Figurine Cape Girl ) The figurines represent modern design, reflecting the confidence that had been acquired by women after the First World War. That’s why the main themes of the figurines are femininity and elegant female dancers. A good example is the Female Dancer, a figurine created by Dumitru Haralamb Chiparus, a sculptor from Romania. It mainly portrays a sensual revue dancer, who appears quite beautiful. Made from bronze, the sculpture features a marble base. Some of the details include hair and arm decorations. Art deco employed a unique artistic style that sought to depict societal changes of that time.
(Above photo - Art Deco Chiparus Bronze Fan Dancer Figurine Statue 1920s ) For the first time, women became essential players as industrial workers. Since men had been conscripted to fight in the armies, women filled in their positions in the factories. The artistic style also attests to the dramatic changes that took place between the two world wars.
(Above photo - Diana the Archer Deco figurine Bronze ) Apart from Dumitru Haralamb Chiparus, most creators of art deco figurines are mostly unknown. While the sculptures gained fame, their creators remained mostly obscure.
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