Art Deco- or the Style Moderne as it was called- survives today as the last truly sumptuous style, a highly fertile chapter in the history of applied arts.
It is not always easy to define the main characteristics of Art Deco because the style drew on such a host of diverse and often conflicting influences. Cubism, the Bauhaus, the Ballets Russes, the Glasgow School of Art under Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Russian Constructivism, Italian Futurism and the Dutch De Stijl movement. The arts of ancient Egypt, Africa, the Americas and the East also inspired western artists and designers. The discovery of Tutankhamen’s tomb helped to make Egyptian art familiar and popular.
