Studio: international art (70.1917)

Studio- Talk

ROOM OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE CONSEIL MUNICIPAL, HOTEL DE VILLE, PARIS, WITH DECORATIONS
AND FURNITURE DESIGNED AND EXECUTED BY TONY SELMERSHEIM

geration and without a discordant note, the
entire equipment is characterized by a remark-
able elegance : a truly national harmony is

observable in the smallest details.

Our modern school of decorative artists has
hitherto come in for a good deal of hostile
criticism because too many of its adherents
have looked to Germany for inspiration and
have imported from beyond the Rhine notions
which clashed violently with our artistic ideals.
Others in seeking to introduce innovations have
lapsed into excesses and extravagances, but it
must not be forgotten that it is always more
difficult to create than to copy. France, an
originative nation par excellence, is strangely
conventional in matters of art. Certainly our
forerunners have bequeathed to us a host of
remarkable works which call for admiration,
but is that a reason why we should look askance
at modern productions ? Modern art rightly

understood partakes of the character of our
age, in which practicality is studied equally
with elegance and comfort, whereas luxury as
understood by the ancients was often associated
with inconvenience.

Tony Selmersheim has proved that modern
art is capable of creating an ensemble at once
sumptuous and serviceable. Especially felici-
tous is the effect he has obtained with wax-
polished mahogany, which he has employed
for panels, wainscoting, overmantel, chairs, and
sofas. The lines of the furniture are neat and
comely ; their harmony is not disturbed by
any complicated ornamentation, but some
beautiful marbles and bronzes form a striking
relief to the rich woodwork. The fireplace,
which is of marble, with the capitals and bases
of the columns in bronze, is flanked by two
bookcases, and between the doors there is
another large piece of cabinet work of the

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