MUSEU CALOUSTE GULBENKIAN
This year marks the centenary of the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts, held in Paris in 1925, which gave rise to the expression Art Deco. One of the most significant proponents of the style, characterised by a return to classical inspiration, geometric rigour, and a stylised simplicity of forms in the decorative arts and architecture, was René Lalique (1860–1945). Dating from this period is his Cluny vase, a 1925 model, decorated with masks inspired by classical theatre and today found in the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, in Lisbon.
Of particular note among the diverse pavilions presented at the exhibition was the Collector’s Pavilion, designed by interior decorator Jacques-Émile Ruhlmann (1879-1933), a major figure in the movement. In front of this building, which sparked great enthusiasm among visitors, a sculptural group was installed, entitled The Spring, or Homage to Jean Goujon, a tribute to the renaissance sculptor Jean Goujon (c.1510–c.1572). The work, executed by Alfred-August Janniot (1889–1969) in Rome in around 1919, was acquired by Calouste Gulbenkian (1869–1955) in 1939 for his property Les Enclos, in Normandy, and is now part of the Gulbenkian Collection.
Luísa Sampaio Calouste Gulbenkian Museum
B-MAD | BERARDO – MUSEU ARTE DÉCO
B-MAD | Berardo Museu Art Deco is located in the heart of the Alcântara area in Lisbon, in what was once the summer residence of the Marquis of Abrantes, built at his order in the first half of the eighteenth century and extended and remodelled in the 1920s by the architect Raúl Lino (1879-1974), commissioned by the owner at the time, professor, doctor and researcher António José Pereira Flores (1883-1957).
When the Berardo Art Deco Collection was installed in this space, it appropriated the various rooms of the mansion to present the collection in compelling sections such as ‘arts of fire,’ which includes glass and crystal ware, ceramics, silverware, wrought iron and bronzes, a highlight among which is Bat Dancer, by Johann-Philipp Preiss (1882–1943). This masterpiece is a type of sculpture known as chryselephantine, made from cold-painted bronze, with the inclusion of ivory (in the dancer’s face, arms and hands) and sitting on a pyramidal onyx base. The Berardo Art Deco Collection offers a detailed insight into the style that was revealed to the world at the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts, in Paris in 1925, incorporating a huge diversity of works ranging from sculpture, painting, drawing, furniture, ceramics, tableware and tapestry to architectural elements and jewellery. The great masters of the style are represented in the collection, notably Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann (1879–1933), whose works were commissioned by great European elites and stood out for the use of noble and exotic materials, always guided by a modern design mirroring the Art Deco style. The collection presents various works by this artist, a highlight being a pair of armchairs made from Macassar ebony and upholstered in leather.
Following the path of the great masters of interior decoration, the display includes a stool by Jean-Michel Frank (1895–1941), an undisputed master of the Art Deco style, whose interiors were characterised by a minimalist approach and furniture made using luxurious and ethereal materials. The influence of classical civilisations is clearly evident in the stool, executed in gilt bronze with Greek key motifs at the top, contrasting with the modernism of the simple lines and the choice of seat, in red leather.
Álvaro Silva Collections Coordinator | Berardo Collection
