MODERN TENDENCIES IN APPLIED ART. No exact date can mark the beginning of the modern movement in applied art. Whenever men grew tired of reproducing the decora tive formulae of the periods preceding the industrial revolution and turned to the creation of new forms and new motives, then and there were the beginnings. One might point to the porcelain table service of Felix Bracquemond exhibited at the Paris exhibition of 1867 as a very early appearance, but in reality this was but the application to western forms of Japanese motives, then just brought to the attention of artistic Europe.
On the other hand, it would hardly be correct to mention Wil liam Morris as a precursor of the modern movement, inasmuch as his valiant struggle was not aimed against the old forms but against the machine and commercialism, and his own creations were always a reflection of the mediaeval spirit. The influence of Morris on later developments, however, was very great, if indirect. In the first place it was largely through his teachings and example that the English Arts and Crafts movement came into being, and although the underlying principles and motives of this revival did not make for modernism as conceived to-day, rlany things were produced by the craf t-workers that were essen tially of this spirit, especially in woodwork, ceramics and em broidery. Furthermore, it was the ideals of the Morris group and the English artist craftsman that perhaps more than any other influence inspired the beginnings of the true modern move ment in Vienna and southern Germany.
The first definite appearance of creations in the intention now identified as modern, would seem to have occurred at Paris in the decade of the '8os in the field of the smaller crafts, par ticularly in ceramics and glass. The French had long been ac quainted with Japanese prints and pottery, but it was not until the '9os that Chinese ceramics of the Tang and Sung periods became known. Certain craftsmen became filled with intense desire to discover the secret of the glazes of these wares and after much labour and research success crowned the efforts of Carries and Chaplet. Delaherche continued these studies and shortly began to produce the remarkable series of sober, rich, deep-toned stoneware of the high fire kiln that have marked his long career. Rejecting all ornamentation and relying on the manifold decorative glaze effects produced at high temperatures, he initiated the triumph of gres an grand feu that has remained ever since the high and characteristic achievement of French ceramics. The work of these craftsmen, together with that of
Dalpayrat and Lachenal attracted great attention and favourable comment at the International Exposition of 1889 in Paris. Side by side with these ceramic triumphs was the glass of Emile Galle of Nancy. Galle, an artist of versatile talent, had been experimenting for many years with various glass-techniques, all of which relied upon the material itself for decorative effect. (See GLASS, MODERN EUROPEAN for work of Galle.) The buildings of the Exposition were also a very distinct ex pression of modernism. The genius of the architects, through ap propriate use of iron, concrete, glass and terra cotta, produced a number of delightful creations in form and colour, which were at the same time dignified and imposing. It is in the decade of the '9os, however, that the modern movement becomes widespread in western Europe. To try to establish priority among these develop ments would be a fruitless task and one that would inevitably lead to controversy. Nevertheless, it is clear that important activities in the field of decoration and furniture design were occurring very early in Brussels. Here, in 1894, took place an exhibition of the so-called "Free Aesthetics," among whom were Henry van de Velde, Victor Horta, S. van Rysselberghe, Serrurier-Bovy and Paul Hankar. First among these in genius for design and later influence was van de Velde. Educated as a painter, he early found the brush inadequate as a means of expressing his reactions towards contemporary life and turned to the design of furniture and household decoration. At heart a believer in functional de sign and sound construction, he was at first caught in the mesh of the curved line, then almost universally in vogue, and evolved a peculiar whiplash curve, which he designated "the line of force." In 1895 van de Velde exhibited four complete rooms in the establishment that had just been opened by S. Bing in Paris. These rooms were shown two years later at the Art Exhibition at Dresden and made a profound impression upon German crafts men and designers.