Apr 30, 2015
I said yesterday that poppies are a common feature of the fin de siècle magazines for the convenient way they combine long-stemmed flowers—ideal for all those Art Nouveau flourishes—with narcotic connotations that signal Decadence. The spiralling fleuron above is one example that readers of Savoy books may recognise, an occasional company logo which has been […]
May 6, 2011
Browsing another fin de siècle magazine—Revue des Arts Décoratifs for 1897—turned up this design for a hand-mirror by Henri Nocq (or Henry as they also name him). Illustrational design was a common feature of the Art Nouveau period, and Nocq’s Narcissus-themed mirror is an ingenious confection complete with etched pond ripples, pearl-flowered lily pads, and […]
Dec 13, 2010
Monsieur Jullian as seen on the back cover of Dreamers of Decadence (1971). Here at last is the long-promised (and long!) piece about the life and work of Philippe Jullian (1919–1977), a French writer and illustrator who’s become something of a cult figure of mine in recent years. Why the fascination? First and foremost because […]
