1. La Belle Époque

2. Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
An aristocratic, alcoholic dwarf known for his louche lifestyle, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec created art that was inseparable from his legendary life.
His career lasted just over a decade and coincided with two major developments in late nineteenth-century Paris: the birth of modern printmaking and the explosion of nightlife culture.
Lautrec's posters promoted Montmartre entertainers as celebrities, and elevated the popular medium of the advertising lithograph to the realm of high art.
His paintings of dancehall performers and prostitutes are personal and humanistic, revealing the sadness and humor hidden beneath rice powder and gaslights.
Though he died tragically young (at age thirty-six) due to complications from alcoholism and syphilis, his influence was long-lasting.
It is fair to say that without Lautrec, there would be no Andy Warhol

3. Divan Japonais, 1892–93
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (French, 1864–1901)
Lithograph printed in four colors on wove paper; 31 13/16 x 23 15/16 in
Divan Japonais was one of the many café-concerts in late nineteenth-century Paris frequented by Toulouse-Lautrec.
His poster advertising the nightspot features two of his favorite Montmartre stars, Yvette Guilbert and Jane Avril.
Here, Avril is a spectator, not a performer, as she sits in the foreground with Édouard Dujardin, a dandyish writer and nightclub habitué.
In the upper left corner, on stage, is the headless body of Guilbert, recognizable by her trademark long black gloves and gaunt physique.

4. Paris

5. Sacré Coeur, Paris Paul Abadie & others, 1876-1914
* Inspired by Southern France and their Romanesque Churches

6. Hector Guimard, Entrance to the Louvre Metro Station, 1899-1905, Paris
Art Nouveau
Hector Guimard, Entrance to the Louvre Metro Station, , Paris

7. Art Nouveau
in the 1880 and 1890’s another new style begins to take shape in Europe
the style is the Art Nouveau which begins in France but spreads throughout Europe where in Germany and Scandinavia it is known as the Jugendstil and in Italy as the stile Liberty
the style gets its name from a shop owned by Sigfried Bing in Paris called L’art Nouveau which sold contemporary decorative arts by various artists including Tiffany and Lalique
the style was characterized by its curving lines derived from nature
the style was shown internationally at the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1900
The Paris Metro debuts as part of the exhibition

8. After the publication of Charles Darwin’s, The Origin of Species in 1859 and The Descent of Man 1871 artists and designers began to explore the idea that man was no longer above nature-but part of it
The idea that people belonged to an ever evolving nature led to the wide use of the theme of metamorphosis or the fusion of human, animal and plant forms
Rene Lalique often combined flowers, insects or female figures in his intricate jewelry
Others copied nature in a realistic manner and others created abstract curvilinear patters, such as the whiplash curve or geometric and linear designs
-after the publication of Charles Darwin’s, The Origin of Species in 1859 and The Descent of Man 1871 artists and designers began to explore the idea that man was no longer above nature-but part of it
-the idea that people belonged to an ever evolving nature led to the wide use of the theme of metamorphosis or the fusion of human, animal and plant forms
-Rene Lalique often combined flowers, insects or female figures in his intricate jewelry
-others copied nature in a realistic manner and others created abstract curvilinear patters, such as the whiplash curve or geometric and linear designs
-the french rococo style also was an influence on designers as well as the art of the asian and islamic worlds

9. Rene Lalique - (1860-1945) Brooch Rene Lalique Silver & cast glass
René-Jules Lalique was born in the Marne region of France.
As a young student he showed great artistic promise and his mother guided him toward jewelry making.
From 1876 to 1878 he apprenticed with Louis Aucoc, a noted Parisian jeweler.
By the 1890s he had opened his own workshop in Paris and become one of the most admired jewelers of the day.
Lalique avoided using precious stones and the conservatively classical settings favored by other leading jewelers of the time.
Rather, he combined semiprecious stones with such materials as enamel, horn, ivory, coral, rock crystal, and irregularly shaped Baroque pearls in settings of organic inspiration, frequently accentuated by asymmetrical curves or elaborate flourishes.
Brooch
Rene Lalique
Silver & cast glass
Ca. 1900 -

10. Henry Van de Velde
Henry Van de Velde originally designed this chair for his home Bloemenwerf near Brussels
the home was furnished entirely with furniture designed by him and he credited John Ruskin and William Morris as influences as well as Voysey
the home was widely published and visited by Bing who commissioned Van de Velde to design versions of the furniture for his shop l’Art Nouveau
The chair combines vernacular styles along with the curving lines characteristic of the art nouveau
the chair was later put into commercial production by the Societe Van de Velde a decorating firm and factory founded by him in 1898
-Henry van de velde originally designed this chair for his home bloemenwerf near brussels
-the home was furnished entirely with furniture designed by him and he credited ruskin and morris as influences as well as voysey
-the home was widely published and visited by bing who commissioned van de velde to design versions of the furniture for his shop l’art nouveau
-the chair combines vernacular styles along with the curving lines characteristic of the art nouveau
-the chair was later put into commercial production by the societe van de velde a decorating firm and factory founded by van de velde in 1898
Chair
Henry Van de Velde
Ca. 1895

11. The Burghers of Calais, modeled 1884–95; this bronze cast 1985 Auguste Rodin (French, 1840–1917) Bronze; H. 82 1/2 in.

12. The Burghers of Calais, commemorating an episode during the Hundred Years' War between England and France, is probably the best and certainly the most successful of Rodin's public monuments.
Rodin closely followed the account of the French chronicler Jean Froissart (1333 or 1337–after 1400) stating that six of the principal citizens of Calais were ordered to come out of their besieged city with head and feet bare, ropes around their necks, and the keys of the town and the caste in their hands.
They were brought before the English king Edward III (1312–1377), who ordered their beheading. Rodin has portrayed them at the moment of departure from their city led by Eustache de Saint- Pierre, the bearded man in the middle of the group. At his side, Jean d'Aire carries a giant-sized key.
Their oversized feet are bare, many have ropes around their necks, and all are in various states of despair, expecting imminent death and unaware that their lives will ultimately be saved by the intercession of the English queen Philippa.
The arrangement of the group, with its unorthodox massing and subtle internal rhythms, was not easily settled, and the completed monument, cast in bronze by the Le Blanc-Barbedienne foundry, was not unveiled in Calais until 1895.
The Metropolitan Museum's bronze is a lost-wax casting made from the plaster model in the Musée Rodin in Paris.