- ISBN13: 9781596914056
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
A critically acclaimed historian of France and French culture identifies the moment in modern history when informality and comfort first became priorities, causing a sudden transformation in the worlds of architecture and interior decoration that would last for centuries. Today it is difficult to imagine a living room without a sofa. When the first sofas on record were delivered in seventeenth-century France, the result was a radical reinvention of interior s… More >>
The Age of Comfort: When Paris Discovered Casual–and the Modern Home Began
An excellent overview of a pivotal moment in the history of Western design, too often passed over and taken for granted as simply a change of ’style.’ DeJean traces the evolving philosophy of design, which erupted into high modernism in the 20th century, by discussing the changing ideas of the home and how one should live in it. From this, we learn of a new idea of architecture, one that focuses on function, i.e., meeting the needs of its users, rather than merely impressing its viewers. The chapters provide an enormous wealth of material on the origins of much of what we hardly notice today, the “furniture of our everyday lives.” Couches, sofas, easy chairs, toilets, night tables, mantels, mirrors – the full range of bric-a-brac and essential items is discussed: the evolution of the decorating “musts” and the formation of modern taste is described. Fascinating!
Rating: 4 / 5
This book has some great material. Unfortunately it seems to have been put hastily together from a series of lecture notes. No one bothered to give it chronological coherence, to eliminate repetitions or even to check the spelling (Mme de Pomadour????)
Rating: 3 / 5