Saint Louis' latest production offers a unique blend of artistry, automobiles, and high-end fashion
The Saint Louis Art Museum is set to host an exciting exhibition, 'Roaring: Art, Fashion, and the Automobile in France, 1918-1939', from April 12 to July 27, 2025. According to the museum's website (Slam.org), this exhibition aims to bring the brief but richly stylish era back to life.
The exhibition showcases ten iconic cars from the period, including a trio of Bugattis, an Alfa Romeo, Talbot-Lago, and a unique 1937 Delahaye Type 135MS Special Roadster with a Hermès leather interior. Other rare models on display include the Bugatti Type 41 Royale and the 1938 Talbot-Lago T150C-SS Teardrop Coupe.
The focus of the exhibition is on luxury and features numerous creative lives from the fertile times, including Josephine Baker, the Delaunays, Germaine Krull, Jacques-Henri Lartigue, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Jeanne Lanvin, Matisse, Man Ray, Charlotte Perriand, and Le Corbusier.
The car, clothes, and architecture were all part of the 1925 International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts, known as the cradle of the art deco movement. One of the highlights of the exhibition is an image on display that sums up the cross-pollination of the era. This image features a specially painted Aries Torpedo by Sonia Delaunay, standing alongside clothes designed by Sonia Delaunay and Jacques Heim.
The setting of the image is the Pavillon des Renseignements et du Tourisme in Paris, designed by Robert Mallet-Stevens. This pavilion was built during the 1925 International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts and is considered the birthplace of the art deco movement.
In art and design, Art Deco in France was characterized by geometric forms, rich materials, and streamlined aesthetics. This movement attracted international visionaries who contributed to innovative works embodying modernity and elegance.
In fashion, Art Deco influenced the style known as garçonne or flapper, especially notable in women’s clothing and accessories. This style was popularized by designers like Coco Chanel and included slim, boyish silhouettes with short haircuts, straight waistlines, and adornments such as Art Deco jewelry featuring geometric patterns and multiple layers of beads.
As for automobile design, Art Deco's impact was visible in the luxurious and streamlined cars produced in France during this period. Automobiles became canvases for artistic expression, with materials and techniques crossing over between high Art Deco interiors and vehicle design. This resulted in elegant, modern cars that combined fine craftsmanship with cutting-edge technology, serving as symbols of modernity and wealth.
Thus, the Art Deco movement helped define French inter-war cultural identity by integrating aesthetics, technology, and lifestyle into art, fashion, and automobiles, fostering a glamorous yet functional modernity embraced internationally. The exhibition 'Roaring' at the Saint Louis Art Museum positions its collection of ten star cars as both subjects and objects, aiming to provide a captivating insight into this influential era.
- The 'Roaring' exhibition at the Saint Louis Art Museum not only showcases ten iconic cars from the Art Deco era but also delves into the fashion-and-beauty trends of the time, highlighting the garçonne style inspired by designers like Coco Chanel.
- The Art Deco movement in France had a profound influence not only on cars with their luxurious and streamlined designs but also on lifestyle elements, transforming homes-and-garden with its geometric forms, rich materials, and streamlined aesthetics.
