Art Deco was the result of a long campaign by French decorative artists to gain equal status with the creators of paintings and sculpture.

[1] Paris, a city that stands as a living testament to the legacy of Art Deco, reveals its architectural treasures around iconic landmarks like the Eiffel Tower and the Grands Boulevards.

Venturing beyond Paris, the "Garden Cities" of Pré-Saint-Gervais, the Palace at Beaumont-sur-Oise, and the Musée des années 1930 in Boulogne-Billancourt offer a glimpse into the widespread embrace of Art Deco in the Île-de-France region.

The tour extends to Boulogne-Billancourt, a hub of interwar prosperity, showcasing the works of Modernist architects like Le Corbusier and Robert Mallet-Stevens.

Other designers, including Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann and Paul Follot refused to use mass production, and insisted that each piece be made individually by hand.

Art Deco in architecture was particularly the result of a new technology, the use of reinforced concrete, which allowed buildings to be taller, stronger, and with fewer supporting beams and columns, and to take almost any possible shape.

In 1877, another Frenchman, Joseph Monier, received a patent for a system of strengthening concrete with a mesh of iron rods in a grid pattern.

The first design for the building was made by the Belgian Henry van de Velde, who was a major figure of the German Werkbund, an association promoting modern decorative arts.

[4] The sober geometric forms of the building, decorated with a long frieze by the sculptor Antoine Bourdelle, and its facade of concrete covered with marble plaques, was the complete opposite of the ornate Palais Garnier opera house, and caused a scandal.

[7] The Church of Sainte-Odile at 2 Avenue Stephane-Mallarmé (17th arrondissement), by Jacques Barges (1935–39) has a single nave, three neo-Byzantine cupolas, and the highest bell tower in Paris, 72 meters tall.

Additionally, one of the highlights of the exploration is the Maison de Verre, a Modernist masterpiece designed by Pierre Chareau and Bernard Bijvoet.

Tucked away near Saint-Germain-des-Prés, this private residence exemplifies the avant-garde spirit of Art Deco, with its translucent glass block façade and innovative design elements.

The most famous example is an apartment building at 3 boulevard Victor (15th arrondissement), built in (1934–1935) by Pierre Patout, in the same period that he created the interior decor for the Normandie.

[11] Pierre Patout's own house and studio, built earlier in 1927–28 at 2 Rue Gambetta in the Paris suburb of Boulogne-Billancourt, also showed elements of Pacqueboat, including the railing around the top "deck" or terrace.

[11] The most famous Art Deco swimming pool in Paris is the Piscine Molitor, next to the Bois de Boulogne park, and between Stade Roland Garros and Parc des Princes.

The complex designed by architect Lucien Pollet to resemble the deck of ocean liner, with three levels of "cabins" around the outdoor pool.

The movement was soon joined by other architects and designers, including Le Corbusier, the silversmith Jean Puiforcat, Pierre Chareau, and Eileen Gray.

It was particularly celebrated for its extensive use of flood lights and colorful illumination, a novelty at the time, used to great effect in the "Cactus" fountain the centerpiece of the Exposition.

The major design event of the period in Paris was the Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne, overlooking the Eiffel Tower.

Here, visitors can witness the evolution of Art Deco through the iron gates of Edgar Brandt and the original furniture designs of Pierre Chareau.

[16] Art Deco Furniture and decoration in Paris before 1914 featured bold colors and geometric floral designs, borrowed from diverse sources ranging from the Ballets Russes to cubism and Fauvism.

They opened a gallery in 1920 on rue de Faubourg-Saint-Honoré which displayed furniture, lamps, glassware, textiles and other new products, including many designed to be produced in series.

[19] The furniture designed by Louis Süe and Andre Mare of Compagnie des Arts Francais was finely crafted and lavish.

The buffet pictured in the gallery below (1920–1921), now in the Musée des Arts Decoratifs in Paris, is made of Mahogany, gilded bronze, and marble.

It has ivory inlays, feet, and knobs, silk tassels, a leather interior writing surface, and aluminum leaf and silver gilding.

Another influential screen maker was Jean Dunand, who mastered the ancient art of Japanese lacquer painting, and also worked with copper and other unusual materials.

[22] Art Deco sculpture was by definition and function decorative, usually placed on the facades or in close proximity to buildings in the style to complement them.

Demétre Chiparus, born in Romania, became one of the most successful Deco sculptors in Paris, and showed his work regularly at the Salon des Artistes Français between 1914 and 1928.

He specialized in small statuettes called chryselephantines, depicting women with face and hands made of ivory clad in costumes of bronze.

[24] Monumental sculpture complemented the facade and parvis of the Palais de Chaillot of the 1937 Paris Exposition, including a statue of "The Fruit" by Félix-Alexandre Desruelles at the Palais de Chaillot (1937) The graphic arts, particularly fashion magazine covers and illustrations, played an important role in popularizing the style, as posters had earlier done for the Art Nouveau.