One of the toughest tasks for any interior designer is to take all of the disparate styles that a client is interested in and unify them into a cohesive theme that flows seamlessly from one room to the next. Fortunately, modern furniture – with its functional simplicity and aesthetic sharpness – lends itself easily to thematic unification with many disparate styles from past eras. Perhaps the most popular retro style currently in vogue is the use of art from La Belle Époque to accent and complement contemporary European furniture. Situated between the late 19th century and World War I, the Belle Époque was a period of European history marked by widespread optimism about the new “age of machines” and abundant faith in the future. While this upbeat spirit disintegrated amidst the horrors of the First World War, the art that it produced remains as a cultural message from a past era when hope was still more popular than cynicism. For this reason, hanging Belle Époque art on the walls brings freshness and vitality to any modern home. Here are 5 paintings from the Belle Époque that will look fantastic with almost any modern decor arrangement:
Above: Sunset At Ivry by Armand Guillaumin (1873)
Above: Woman with a Parasol by Claude Monet (1875)