: Think of Paris in the 1920s, and sinuous, sophisticated images of
the stylish Art Deco period come to mind. The glamorous period,
typified by the furnishings produced by Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann,
is currently being celebrated in an exhibition dedicated to the
designer, "Ruhlmann: Genius of Art Deco." The landmark exhibit,
on view at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, runs concurrently with
"Art Deco Paris," an exhibition of works by other leading
Parisian designers of the period.
"Ruhlmann: Genius of Art Deco" is the first major retrospective
dedicated to the entire career of the foremost proponent of high
style French Art Deco. The cutting edge styles characterized a
remarkable free-flowing era in many ways, and Ruhlmann was at its
vanguard. The exhibit includes about 225 Ruhlmann objects and
drawings from The Met's own collection along with other objects
on loan from public and private collections throughout North
America and Europe.
It was the "Roaring Twenties," the western world had just emerged
from a long, dark and devastating war ready to dip deeply into
the jazzy elegance that was hovering on the horizon. It was a
brief bubble of extraordinary vibrancy in time between two wars
and a worldwide depression. The sky was the limit in all things.
And as for Ruhlmann, the times were made for the man and the man
was made for the times.
