L'Art de Vivre: Decorative Arts and Design in France, 1789-1989

From Publishers Weekly
Based on a current exhibit at Manhattan's Cooper-Hewitt Museum, this generously illustrated volume collects eight essays by European and American curators and art historians on French design of the past two centuries, from the emergence of the dining room (earliest records date the French version to 1694) to haute couture from the 1988 Paris collection of Christian Lacroix. We learn of late 19th-century French designs for chairs (fringed, cushioned and curvaceous) and beds (flowing with canopies); 19th- and 20th-century jewelry, including a dragonfly brooch of gold, enamel and diamonds; and the latest in black and red minimalist traveling irons, along with predictably splendid artifacts of Napoleonic vintage. Commentary, though written by scholars, is accessible and engaging.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
This lavish book was produced in conjunction with an exhibition held at the Cooper-Hewitt to commemorate the bicentennial of the French Revolution. It surveys the many changes in the "arts of living" since the Revolution by highlighting the development of design, industry, and commercialism in response to both aristocratic tastemakers and bourgeois demands. Each chapter, written by a specialist in the field, covers a special aspect of French design. Those of particular interest discuss the impact of world expositions on French arts, the development of department stores, interior design, and dining. Though one could wish that the chapter on fashion had taken the historical survey approach of the others and that the illustrations were more fully integrated into the text, this is an excellent book that will fill a gap in most decorative arts collections. Highly recommended.\n- Lynell A. Morr, John & Mable Ringling Museum of Art Lib., Sarasota, Fla.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.