What are the most interesting books about the decorative arts?

March 3, 2016 6:13 AM

I am interested in doing some reading in the area of decorative arts, and I am thus wanting to identify books that contain the big ideas of this field. Theoretical treatments would be especially interesting to me. Do you have any suggestions for where I should start? I would be both interested in what you think the classic texts are in this field as well as new treatments.
posted by mortaddams to Media & Arts (5 answers total)

The Grammar of Ornament (1856), by Owen Jones.
posted by Weftage at 7:38 AM on March 3, 2016 [1 favorite]

I do not have a special background in this area, but if you'd like to browse a large number of decorative arts books from the 1920s and before, Open Library has a large number of books that you can just click through and browse all at once including many turn of the last century museum guides on the subject.
posted by jessamyn at 8:52 AM on March 3, 2016

This is fiction but The Children's Book by AS Byatt is about the rise of the decorative arts movement in pre-war Britian. I found it immensely interesting and full of the history of the movement.
posted by mrfuga0 at 12:54 PM on March 3, 2016

The Sense of Order: A Study in the Psychology of Deocrative Art by E.H. Gombrich is an absolutely central text in this field, and a great read, to boot.
posted by Dr. Wu at 5:37 PM on March 3, 2016 [1 favorite]

Adolf Loos's Ornament and Crime essay is a particular starting point, from which you could hit articles that cite it, and books next to it at the library or online. e.g. LeCorb's Toward and Architecture.

(I think Loos's ideas took off in large part because of developments in materials and processes, that is, industrialization. I've been meaning to read a broad history of interior design, but need to knock off some off more fundamental reading first.)
posted by sebastienbailard at 8:41 PM on March 3, 2016