The inimitable style of renowned French interior designer Madeleine Castaing, chronicled in-depth for the first time. While many were drumming to the beat of modernism in the early- and mid-twentieth century, French antiquaire and decorator Madeleine Castaing created her own look that was a unique blend of neoclassicism, Proustian romanticism, and pure wit. Her distinctive aesthetic vision has inspired tastemakers on both sides of the Atlantic, and her devotees—both then and now—are legion. Ocelot carpeting, opaline blue, "coolie" lampshades, and an eclectic mix of neoclassical furnishings ranging from English Regency to Napoleon III all formed part of the vocabulary of "le style Castaing." This lavishly illustrated volume—the first on her work—explores in-depth the elements of her style, and examines how she crafted interiors so emotive that visitors felt that they had stepped into a Balzac novel or a Proustian recollection. Her entire life and career are chronicled, from her early years in Montparnasse, the epicenter of artistic activity in Paris, to her incomparable country house Lèves and her legendary shop on rue Jacob in Paris.
"EVERY NOW AND THEN in the continuing blizzard of books on design and decor somebody truly first rank gets left out. There is no good reason for this but it does make it very exciting when the book finally comes along that does justice to the omission. The long awaited World of Madeleine Castaing about the French interior designer who died in 1992 at age 98 is such a book It manages to be both love letter and catalogue raisonne devoted to this most charismatic and mysterious of great lady decorators." ~Wall Street Journal
"The World of Madeleine Castaing reflects the French designer's mantra, 'Be audacious, but with taste.' Her fabric patterns, many still in production, and her neoclassical-inspired interiors for Jean Cocteau, Francine Wesweiller, and others are the stuff of legend." ~Elle Decor
"Thanks to author Emily Evans Eerdmans, we now have The World of Madeleine Castaing, a wonderfully comprehensive work that tells Castaing's fascinating life story and provides many examples of her stylish and original take on turn-of-the-century decorating... The World of Madeleine Castaing establishes the decorator in the context of her peers and highlights her influences, predominately the English Regency and Napoleon III styles, which she makes fashionable again." ~New York Observer
