A discovery tour of the loveliest Art Nouveau and Art Deco architecture in the west of Paris. At the end of the 19th century, the communes of Passy, Auteuil and Chaillot, which were still countrified, were incorporated into the capital providing vast available spaces for architectural experimentation. Art Nouveau was the first style to appear, introduced by the French architect Hector Guimard. He was the leading figure of the movement in France and was himself inspired by the figurehead of this movement, the Belgian Victor Horta. From the 1920s onwards, Art Deco became the dominant style. Geometry won out over curves, horizontality over verticality, and volutes disappeared in favour of symmetry. Entrance doors, balconies, metro stations, shop windows, the pediments of buildings … the west of Paris is full of small and spectacular illustrations of these two artistic movements of the early 19th century. Architectural treasures to be discovered during a walk in the 16th arrondissement.
