The theme for November's Livres du Mois is Art Deco, a collection of books featuring artists, designers and writers of the movement, illustrators who have previously appeared in the Compendium alongside iconic authors. We begin, of course, with Erté.
Erté
At Ninety-Five
The Complete New Graphics
"Erté at Ninety-Five, published in 1987, contains the graphics the artist has created between 1982 and 1987 using serigraph or silk screen printing. The introduction to the book is by Erté himself, he talks about his childhood, his works and working practices. Erté’s creative demands on the print medium have required the development of new techniques in serigraph printing and other graphic methods, such as hot-stamping of metallic foils and embossing.
The book contains 163 works produced in full-colour with many pieces showing how Erté employed innovative techniques to produce graphics of increasing visual power and excitement. Here, undiminished, are in the words of art historian Alastair Duncan, ‘the hallmarks of Erté’s style – flamboyance, wit, fantasy, sensuality, and a pervading minute attention to detail’."
The Great Gatsby
by
F. Scott Fitzgerald
"The Great Gatsby is a 1925 novel by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. Set in the Jazz Age on Long Island, the novel depicts narrator Nick Carraway's interactions with mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby and Gatsby's obsession to reunite with his former lover, Daisy Buchanan.
A youthful romance Fitzgerald had with socialite Ginevra King, and the riotous parties he attended on Long Island's North Shore in 1922 inspired the novel. Following a move to the French Riviera, he completed a rough draft in 1924. He submitted the draft to editor Maxwell Perkins, who persuaded Fitzgerald to revise the work over the following winter. After his revisions, Fitzgerald was satisfied with the text, but remained ambivalent about the book's title and considered several alternatives. The final title he desired was Under the Red, White, and Blue. Painter Francis Cugat's final cover design impressed Fitzgerald who incorporated a visual element from the art into the novel.
Gatsby continues to attract popular and scholarly attention. The novel was most recently adapted to film in 2013 by director Baz Luhrmann, while contemporary scholars emphasize the novel's treatment of social class, inherited wealth compared to those who are self-made, race, environmentalism, and its cynical attitude towards the American dream. The Great Gatsby is widely considered to be a literary masterpiece and a contender for the title of the Great American Novel."
George Barbier:
Master of Art Deco
"George Barbier was one of the great French illustrators of the early twentieth century. He is famous for his elegant art deco works that were heavily influenced by orientalism and Parisian couture. Born in Nantes, France in 1882, he skyrocketed to fame and notoriety after his first exhibition in 1911.
Known as one of “the knights of the bracelet” for his luxurious and glamorous lifestyle and work, George Barbier also received renown for costumes and set designs he did for theater, film, and ballet. Even today, his modern and stylish illustrations are popular all over the world. With critical essays on such topics as coloration and composition, this volume is a complete compendium of Barbier’s work."
Vile Bodies
by
Evelyn Waugh
"Evelyn Waugh's acidly funny and formally daring satire, Vile Bodies reveals the darkness and vulnerability that lurks beneath the glittering surface of the high life.
In the years following the First World War a new generation emerges, wistful and vulnerable beneath the glitter. The Bright Young Things of twenties' Mayfair, with their paradoxical mix of innocence and sophistication, exercise their inventive minds and vile bodies in every kind of capricious escapade - whether promiscuity, dancing, cocktail parties or sports cars. In a quest for treasure, a favourite party occupation, a vivid assortment of characters, among them the struggling writer Adam Fenwick-Symes and the glamorous, aristocratic Nina Blount, hunt fast and furiously for ever greater sensations and the fulfilment of unconscious desires."
The Art of
René Lalique
"Best known as a decorative glassmaker of the 1920s and 30s, Rene Lalique was a multi-talented craftsman who began his career as a goldsmith and went on to become a leading exponent of Art Deco. His versatility is revealed in this book which shows how he was equally at home designing delicate jewellery or mass-produced scent bottles, as he was lift doors or windows for the French railways. It looks at all aspects of his art, from his innovative techniques like "cire perdue" and use of new materials such as bakelite, to his architectural designs and the variety of glassware he produced: the vases, his mirrors, clocks, lamps and tableware; his famous car mascots and glass jewellery.
This book is both a guide for collectors and a book for those interested in Art Deco and 20th century design and contains many previously unpublished photographs. Each chapter also gives advice on values and features which collectors should look out for."
The Beautiful and Damned
by
F. Scott Fitzgerald
"The heir to his grandfather’s considerable fortune, Anthony Patch is led astray from the path to gainful employment by the temptations of the 1920s Jazz Age. His descent into dissolution and profligacy is accelerated by his marriage to the attractive but turbulent Gloria, and the couple soon discover the dangerous flip side of a life of glamour and debauchery.
Containing obvious parallels with F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald’s own lives, The Beautiful and Damned is a tragic examination of the pitfalls of greed and materialism and the transience of youth and beauty."
From the Ballet Russes
to Vogue
The Art of Georges Lepape
"From the Ballets Russes to Vogue: The Art of Georges Lepape. 175 pages with 296 illustrations from photographs & drawings, including 136 in color; bibliography. "A well-illustrated monograph on the enduring illustrator whose distinctive style helped define art deco. Lepape's work appeared in leading fashion magazines - most notably pochoir prints for "La Gazette du Bon Ton" and Vogue covers - as well as in advertisements for leading couture houses and costume designs for Ballet Russes."
Poirot Investigates
by
Agatha Christie
"Poirot Investigates is a short story collection written by Agatha Christie. In the eleven stories, famed eccentric detective Hercule Poirot solves a variety of mysteries involving greed, jealousy, and revenge.
First there was the mystery of the film star and the diamond…then came the ‘suicide’ that was murder, the mystery of the absurdly cheap flat and a suspicious death in a locked gun-room. A million dollar bond robbery, the curse of a pharaohs tomb, a jewel robbery by the sea and the abduction of a Prime Minister. The disappearance of a banker, a phone call from a dying man and, finally, the mystery of the missing will."
Fadeaway
The Remarkable Imagery of
Coles Phillips
"Coles Phillips was among the most in-demand illustrators in his field during the 1910s and 20s. A dynamic and highly skilled watercolor artist and draftsman, Phillips created dozens of covers for mainstream American magazines, including Good Housekeeping, Life, and The Saturday Evening Post. In 1908 he created a style in which the figure in the foreground blended seamlessly into the background, rendering some amount of the clothing invisible save for the edges.
Dubbed ""The Fadeaway,"" the eye-catching technique became a huge hit and was employed to great effect by the artist for most of his career. This original compilation features more than 80 color plates selected from two of Phillips' early collections, A Gallery of Girls and A Young Man's Fancy, in addition to images from other sources. An Introduction by illustrator and graphic designer Scott M. Fischer provides a modern appraisal and speaks to Phillips' lasting influence. Students of illustration, graphic design, and advertising as well as fans of 1920s fashion will appreciate this collection of striking works by a Golden Age designer-illustrator."
This Side of Paradise
by
F. Scott Fitzgerald
"This Side of Paradise charts the life of Amory Blaine, an ambitious young man loosely based on Fitzgerald himself, as he moves from his well-heeled Midwest home to study at Princeton and then starts frequenting the circles of high society as an aspiring writer. Experiencing failure and frustration in love and in his career, Blaine finds his youthful enthusiasm gradually giving way to disillusionment, cynicism and a life of dissolution."
Fashion and the Art of Pochoir
The Golden Age of Illustration in Paris
"The 1910s and 1920s witnessed an outpouring of luxury publications that used a hand-stencilling technique known as pochoir (French for 'stencil'). The highly refined and painterly technique, which consists of applying layers of gouache paint or watercolour to achieve bold blocks of saturated colour, produced works of visual artistry formerly unrivalled in the history of illustration, and it became the medium of choice for avant-garde couturiers seeking to stand apart and cultivate an elite readership.
Organised chronologically by publication and showcasing a carefully curated selection of the most exceptional illustrations from couture albums and high-end magazines, Fashion and the Art of Pochoir is the definitive tribute to the artists and couturiers who first united to redefine luxury, inaugurating the enduring alliance between fashion and art, from Schiaparelli and Dalì to Vuitton and Murakami today. Closing with biographical notices of illustrators and fashion designers, it offers a unique chance for illustrators, artists, designers and fashion enthusiasts to discover the rarely seen images that defined a short but magnificent golden age."
I hope you have found something interesting amongst this collection of artists and authors but if not, you may find something more to your tastes in the Compendium Library.
