Trade and Decoration. Gourmandise’s Aesthetics.

Abstract

Between  the  Second  Empire  and  the  I  World  War,  Paris  experienced  asumptous  period for commercial activity.  Commercial flourishing brought along an  important  development  of  decorated  shops,  where  the public  could  find  the elegant  and  pleasant  environments  they  fancied.  Far  from  being  an exclusive feature reserved to shops selling luxury products, the will for ornamentation also invaded grocery shops, especially in bakeries. We can still count in Paris several of  these  shops.  Most  of  them  were  installed  by  a  series  of decoration  workshops that  kept  very  active  at  the  end  of  the  19th  century.  These workshops  are responsible for a particular decorative language, both in iconographic repertories as  well  asin  the  techniques  they  used,  like  the  fixé-sous-verre,  consisting  in painted panels covered with glass.