‘LACQUER IS NOT A FASHION BUT A PASSION IN PARIS’

Zoom lecture by Dr Elisabeth Darby at 18.00 pm (London time).

In this joint lecture with the Furniture History Society Dr Darby will examine the use of lacquer in furniture by leading figures working in Paris from c.1910 to c.1935. European interest in lacquer has a long history but in Paris, from the early years of the 20th century, enthusiasm for the material attained new heights as several artists experimented with, and mastered, the technique. This renewed passion coincided with the emergence of the French Art Deco style which reached its apogee in L’Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes, held in Paris in 1925, at which lacquer work figured prominently. The lecture will focus on the contrasting working methods, approaches and visual characteristics in the lacquer designs of Jean Dunand and Eileen Gray.