Essential Modernism Design Between the World Wars 2018 — Used

A modernist reference: 600 illustrations and 70 creators analyzed

Essential Modernism is the definitive reference work for understanding 20th-century design, from Aalto to Wright. This encyclopedic 479-page study examines how the pioneers of modernism—Marcel Breuer, Eileen Gray, Le Corbusier, and Mies van der Rohe—revolutionized architecture, furniture, and the applied arts by prioritizing function over tradition. A masterful volume tracing the evolution of the International Style from the 1920s to the 1940s, it is enriched with over 600 color illustrations and essays by renowned experts.

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Essential Modernism — Design Between the Two World Wars

479 pages
Color photos
Hardcover
31 x 25 cm
3,202 kg
English

New book (still in its original packaging), but the slipcase has a crease on the back, see photo

This comprehensive study presents and analyzes the work of dozens of modernist designers, from those who established the International Style in the 1920s and 1930s to the revolutionary practitioners of the mid-1940s. Modernism, with its powerful aesthetic and compelling philosophical framework, is the most defining movement in 20th-century design and the applied arts. International architects and designers such as Alvar Aalto, Marcel Breuer, Eileen Gray, Le Corbusier, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, and Frank Lloyd Wright revolutionized the built world and the way we live in it. Their work rejected historical precedents, prioritizing function over tradition, and their experimentation with new forms, materials, and techniques transformed our living spaces and lifestyles and fundamentally changed our perception of design.

This lively and accessible work includes sections on furniture, lighting, ceramics and glass, industrial and product design, graphic design and posters, houses and interiors, as well as profiles of over seventy influential creators. Its encyclopedic scope fosters unexpected connections and offers fresh perspectives on the movement. Complete with essays by accomplished scholars and specialists in the field, over 600 illustrations, and an illustrated A-Z of designers, architects, and manufacturers, this book is unparalleled and unprecedented in its breadth. Essential Modernism is an indispensable resource for researchers and students, as well as for designers' studios, collectors' offices, and enthusiasts' libraries.