From Louis XV curves to Bauhaus geometry, from romantic eclecticism to postmodern irony — design history is not a thing of the past. It’s a lens for reading the world, and shaping the present.

Design Legacies is HART’s section dedicated to Art and Design History, the great decorative movements, visual cultures, and stylistic evolutions that continue to inform contemporary aesthetics. Here, we trace how taste, craft, politics, and innovation have left their imprint on the spaces we live in and the objects we cherish.

This space is for design lovers and collectors, but also for students, teachers, editors, and brands looking to build meaning through form. Whether you’re referencing a historic style or reinterpreting its codes — context matters. HART offers that context with beauty, depth and clarity.

A cross-century journey through style

We explore four major design periods, each hosting in-depth articles, analysis, inspiration and archival stories:

• 17th century — Theatrical baroque, classical proportions, and royal craft.
• 18th century — Rococo, neoclassicism, and the golden age of European decorative arts.
• 19th century — Eclecticism, Empire, Arts & Crafts, and the first industrial aesthetics.
• 20th century — Bauhaus, modernism, Art Deco, Memphis, radical postmodern gestures.

Each era has its icons, philosophies, contradictions. We explore them with rigor and emotion — so that heritage becomes a living source of creativity.

For editors, institutions, educators & students

Are you developing a heritage-inspired collection? Teaching design history? Curating a cultural project or exhibition? Looking to publish or collaborate around historic styles?

📩 Let’s connect:
collab@hartdesignselection.com