Art dans Tout

Art dans Tout ('art in everything') was a French group of sculptors, cabinetmakers, architects, and decorative artists working from 1896 to 1901. Founded as Les Cinq by Félix Aubert, Alexandre Charpentier, Jean Dampt, Henry Nocq, and Charles Plumet, it grew into Les Six and then Art dans Tout as new members joined. Their aim was to break down the wall between the fine and the minor arts: every object - a dressing table, a bottle stopper, a fitted bathroom - should be both functional and artistic, its form honest to its material. They exhibited furnished rooms rather than isolated pieces, and collaborated with industry, notably the Sarreguemines factory. Several members worked within Art Nouveau, and the group's ideas fed directly into the early modern decorative arts.

Defining characteristics

• Whole ensembles designed as units: rooms where furniture, fittings, and textiles match
• Form fitted to function, with decoration integrated into structure
• Materials treated honestly: wood, metal, and stone shaped to their nature
• Flowing, vegetal ornament typical of French Art Nouveau, applied to everyday fittings
• Craft techniques - carving, repoussé, lace, cabinetmaking - elevated to fine art status

Key figures

• Alexandre Charpentier (1856-1909) — Sculptor and medalist in whose workshop the group first met
• Jean Dampt (1854-1945) — Sculptor and medalist among the founding five
• Charles Plumet (1861-1928) — Architect of the group's fitted interiors
• Paul Follot (1877-1942) — Furniture designer who joined in the 1898 expansion
• Henri Sauvage (1873-1932) — Architect who joined in 1898 and carried the ideals into housing

Example works

• Furnished boudoir, Salon de la Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts — Les Cinq (1897)
• Fitted bathroom with Eugène Simas — Félix Aubert & Alexandre Charpentier (1898)
• Bedroom for Prince Alexandre de Chimay — Félix Aubert & Alexandre Charpentier (1899)

Sources

• Art dans Tout - Wikipedia encyclopedia

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