Textiles & Wallpaper: 1930s Patterns
“Wallpaper made it possible to see clearly, to repudiate these dishonest games and to open all doors to the great splendors of polychromy, dispenser of spaces, classifier of essential things and accessory things”, Le Corbusier
Design and architecture experienced a period of great creativity in the 1930s. The development of new materials such as metal or glass and industrial manufacturing processes make it possible to produce everyday objects on a large scale in a refined style identical as the one in architecture praised by the International Style.
In France, La Villa Savoye created by Le Corbusier is an example of the diffusion of this trend. It also marks the importance, for architects and designers of that time, of color in the design of housing and the construction of space. The influence of Piet Mondrian and the De Stijl group is prevalent : in search of harmony and total art, these artists will set up a system combining grids, straight and pure lines, lively colors laid in flat areas.
Le Corbusier will therefore, in the tradition of Dutch artists, seek to establish balanced and harmonious constructions and design, in collaboration with the Salubra house, color keyboards so that a chromatic atmosphere can be chose.
Architecture will offer decorative artists large surfaces to be able to define space through mural art. Art Deco has a special place in the return of classical rigor and in the desire for purity also adopted by wallpaper design : it will be expressed through the geometry of patterns such as chevrons, triangles, arcs or spirals , reinterpretation of floral motifs, palm leaves, ferns, tulips and animal motifs, particularly birds.
Our original 1930s-inspired wallpapers
A selection of wallpapers freely inspired by the decorative arts and graphic trends of the 1930s. A period very rich in artistic creation, the 1930s were particularly marked by the Art Deco style. This category of our products revisits several trends in vogue at this time, between more traditional and floral patterns and abstract geometric creations. Some patterns are clearly in a retro-chic trend, while others find a certain modernity by matching current trends.
Art Deco, emblematic style of the 20s and 30s
If Art Deco was baptized as such around 1925, this style has developed gradually since the beginning of the 20th century. Although contemporary with Modernism, Art Deco shares with it geometric shapes and structured designs, but integrates without problem and sometimes to excess, purely decorative aesthetic elements.
A profound trend, Art Deco is available in a very large number of areas: Architecture, industrial design, graphics, furniture, graphic design, textiles and of course wallpaper. Some very simple motifs are emblematic of this movement: The fan, the chevrons, and arcs of circles.
Focus on Art Deco, emblematic style of the 1930s
The Art Nouveau movement dominated European decorative arts until the eve of the First World War. Art then invites itself into everyday objects and of course architecture. Entire neighborhoods are built in a style that gives pride of place to curves, plant motifs and busy facades. Riga, Barcelona and Brussels are notably representative of major European centers forming a veritable Art Nouveau route.
It was in this context that artists sought to rediscover a simpler aesthetic, moving away from undulating forms and ornate compositions. Clean lines, symmetrical arrangements, right angles, and regular semicircles emerged . This marked the birth of Art Deco, a style whose boundaries are sometimes blurred, at the crossroads of Modernism, the Bauhaus, and Art Nouveau.
In France, the movement found particular prominence during the reconstruction of regions affected by the First World War: in Reims and Saint-Quentin, for example, its architectural richness can be seen in large-scale urban developments. Further afield, the exampleof Villeurbanne, with its skyscrapers inspired by contemporary American trends, including the Empire State Building, a symbol of Art Deco architecture, is another.
The style unfolded on facades, furniture, and also in the graphic arts of the period. Advertising, in particular, made extensive use of simple, clean lines to attract the eye and create striking visual effects. With the rise of transportation, Cassandre, one of the era's iconic graphic designers, created numerous highly distinctive posters. In painting, Tamara de Lempicka embodied the movement with her portraits featuring vibrant colors, soft shadows, and tightly framed compositions. All these graphic developments made Art Deco a unique style, occupying an essential place in the history of design and graphic arts. Every year, numerous exhibitions, books, and films revisit the movement that marked the 1920s, 1930s, and even beyond!
Indeed, in recent years we have seen a resurgence of the style, driven in particular by films such as The Great Gatsby and The Artist. In the home, Art Deco is making a strong statement today by combining metal and geometric shapes (pendant lights, designer furniture, but also glass roofs and ironwork), and of course through its graphic motifs which can be found on French wallpapers and furnishing textiles.
