(Fr new art) A movement which flourished from c.1890 to c.1905, mainly in the decorative arts, characterized by naturalistic plant and flower motifs, and writhing patterns of sinuous, curling lines; called Jugendstil in Germany, Sezessionstil in Austria, and Stile Liberty (after the shop in Regent St, London) in Italy. Typical products include the drawings of Beardsley, the furniture of Mackintosh, the architecture of Gaudí, the jewellery of Lalique, the glassware of Louis Comfort Tiffany, and the Paris Metro stations by Hector Guimard.
Art Nouveau (IPA: [art nuvo], anglicised /ˈɑːt nuːvəu/) (French for 'new art') is an international style of art, architecture and design that peaked in popularity at the beginning of the 20th century. Co, which distributed modern design emanating from the Arts and Crafts movement, a sign both of the Art Nouveau's commercial aspect and the 'imported' character that it always retained in Italy. Art Nouveau was also a force in Eastern Europe, with the influence of Alfons Mucha in Prague and Moravia (part of the modern Czech Republic) and Latvian Romanticism (Riga, the capital of Latvia, is home to over 800 Art Nouveau buildings).
History of Art Nouveau
Though Art Nouveau climaxed in the years 1892 to 1902, the first stirrings of an Art Nouveau movement can be recognised in the 1880s, in a handful of progressive designs such as the architect-designer Arthur Mackmurdo's book cover design for his essay on the city churches of Sir Christopher Wren, published in 1883.
The name 'Art Nouveau' derived from the name of a shop in Paris, Maison de l'Art Nouveau, at the time run by Siegfried Bing, that showcased objects that followed this approach to design.
A high point in the evolution of Art Nouveau was the Exposition Universelle of 1900 in Paris, in which the 'modern style' triumphed in every medium. By the start of the First World War, however, the highly stylised nature of Art Nouveau design — which itself was expensive to produce — began to be dropped in favour of more streamlined, rectilinear modernism that was cheaper and thought to be more faithful to the rough, plain, industrial aesthetic that became Art Deco.
Character of Art Nouveau
Dynamic, undulating, and flowing, with curved 'whiplash' lines of syncopated rhythm, characterise much of Art Nouveau.
As an art movement it has affinities with the Pre-Raphaelites and the Symbolism (arts) movement, and artists like Aubrey Beardsley, Alfons Mucha, Edward Burne-Jones, Gustav Klimt, and Jan Toorop could be classed in more than one of these styles.
Art Nouveau in architecture and interior design eschewed the eclectic revival styles of the Victorian era.
Japanese wood-block prints, with their curved lines, patterned surfaces, contrasting voids, and flatness of visual plane, also inspired Art Nouveau.
Art Nouveau did not negate the machine as the Arts and Crafts Movement did, but used it to its advantage.
Art Nouveau is considered a 'total' style, meaning that it encompasses a hierarchy of scales in design — architecture; (See Hierarchy of genres.)
Art Nouveau media
Two-dimensional Art Nouveau pieces were painted, drawn, and printed in popular forms such as advertisements, posters, labels, magazines, and the like.
Jewellery of the Art Nouveau period revitalised the jeweller's art, with nature as the principal source of inspiration, complemented by new levels of virtuosity in enamelling and the introduction of new materials, such as opals and semi-precious stones.
The jewellers of Paris and Brussels defined Art Nouveau in jewellery, and in these cities it achieved the most renown.
Geographical scope of Art Nouveau
Centers of the style are:
| Ålesund Amsterdam Bad Nauheim Barcelona Berlin Brussels Budapest Buenos Aires Chicago Darmstadt Guadalajara Hagen Havana Helsinki | Glasgow Kiev Krakow Ljubljana Łódź Lviv London Mannheim Milan Moscow Munich Nancy New York | Nizhny Novgorod Reus Rīga Osijek Oradea/Nagyvarad Paris Prague The Hague Subotica St.Petersburg Taganrog | Terrassa Tbilisi Varese Vienna Vladivostok La Chaux-de-Fonds Zagreb |
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