Art Deco, sometimes referred to as Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture and design that first appeared in France just before World War I.[1] Art Deco influenced the design of buildings, furniture, jewelry, fashion, cars, movie theatres, trains, ocean liners, and everyday objects such as radios and vacuum cleaners.[2] It took its name, short for Arts Décoratifs, from the Exposition internationale des arts décoratifs et industriels modernes (International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts) held in Paris in 1925.[3] It combined modern styles with fine craftsmanship and rich materials. During its heyday, Art Deco represented luxury, glamour, exuberance, and faith in social and technological progress.
Art Deco was a pastiche of many different styles, sometimes contradictory, united by a desire to be modern. From its outset, Art Deco was influenced by the bold geometric forms of Cubism; the bright colors of Fauvism and of the Ballets Russes; the updated craftsmanship of the furniture of the eras of Louis Philippe I and Louis XVI; and the exotic styles of China and Japan, India, Persia, ancient Egypt and Maya art. It featured rare and expensive materials, such as ebony and ivory, and exquisite craftsmanship. The Chrysler Building and other skyscrapers of New York built during the 1920s and 1930s are monuments of the Art Deco style.
In the 1930s, during the Great Depression, the Art Deco style became more subdued. New materials arrived, including chrome plating, stainless steel, and plastic. A sleeker form of the style, called Streamline Moderne, appeared in the 1930s; it featured curving forms and smooth, polished surfaces.[4] Art Deco is one of the first truly international styles, but its dominance ended with the beginning of World War II and the rise of the strictly functional and unadorned styles of modern architecture and the International Style of architecture that followed.[5]
The Nord Express (Northern Express) was a train service introduced in 1896 by the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits, which operated sleeping-cars, dining cars and trains deluxe all over Europe, including the Orient Express. It left Paris and travelled via Brussels, Cologne, Hanover, Berlin, Königsberg (now Kaliningrad) and Dvinsk (now Daugavpils) to Saint Petersburg.
The founders of CIWL wanted to establish a direct link between Saint Petersburg and Lisbon to connect with ocean liners to America.
The Nord Express in the French station of Noyon – Beginning of the 20th century
Passengers from Russia had to change once in East Prussia at the German/Russian border because Russian railway tracks are of a wider gauge than those in Western Europe. In Paris there was a connecting service to the Sud Express (Southern Express) to Lisbon. This train service enabled people to travel across Europe in what was, by the standards of the time, a very fast and comfortable manner.
After World War I the train was diverted to Warsaw instead of Saint Petersburg. After World War II the "iron curtain" and air travel caused the end to this famous train.
Since World War II the name Nord Express has been used for the initially luxury and since 1951 ordinary night train between Paris and Copenhagen. In 2007 it was shortened further and diverted again such that it now runs between Paris and Hamburg, taking 10.5 hours.