Art Nouveau

A French term meaning - new art referring to a particular style. Architecture, commercial and decorative art, the style of painting and sculpture were the most popular styles during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

It was the first style to stop looking backwards in history for ideas, taking inspiration instead from what you see around you especially in nature. It is an approach to design according to artists that they work on everything from architecture to furniture, making art part of everyday life.

Art Nouveau Architecture
Victor Horta's House

The characteristics of this style are sinuous, elongated, curvy lines, the whiplash line, vertical lines and height, stylised flowers, leaves, roots, buds and seedpods, the female form - in a Pre-Raphaelite pose with long flowing hair, exotic woods, marquetry, iridescent glass, silver and semi-precious stones.

Art Nouveau flourished in a number of European countires, many of which developed their own names for the style. Art Nouveau was known in France as Art Nouveau/Modern Style, in Italy as the Stile Liberty, in Britain it stayed the same as Art Nouveau, in Spain as Modernista, in Vienna as Sezessionstil and in Germany as Jugendtil.

Alphonse Mucha

Art Nouveau had its deepest influences on a variety of art and design movements that continued to explore integrated design including nature, arts and crafts, rococo, Celtic art, Japanese art, Egyptian art and Gothic revival.

Art Nouveau inspired by Japanese Art

In Art Nouveau you can say that artists were inspired from this style which then led them to create art in 3D dimensional form. Artists interpreted Art Nouveau in their own individual manner. Some artists related to Art Nouveau are:

• Charles Rennie Mackintosh - architect and designer of furniture and jewellery
• Alphonse Mucha - poster
• Aubrey Beardsley - book illustrations
• Louis Comfort Tiffany - lighting
• Rene Laliqué - glass and jewellery
• Emile Gallé - ceramics, glass and furniture
• Victor Horta - architect

Victor Horta, Tassel House, Brussels 1893-1894

Nature was a big inspiration of Art Nouveau, but not necessarily the most beautiful side of nature. Here, we can see that whiplash curves resemble vines to overtake the house and iron support columns are cast in the form of a stem or root that is bursting alive at the top.

Emile Gallé, "Libellule" vase, 1903

Glass was an important Art Nouveau medium with artists like Emile Gallé in France and Louis Comfort Tiffany in the United States. Glass was very effective for conveying the importance of Art Nouveau in 3D dimensional layers and varying from opaque to translucent.

Modern design influenced by Art Nouveau

The Art Nouveau Movement had a great influence on illustrators, artists and the printing trade in America including Art Nouveau revival in the post war 60s hippie period. Even today, some of the best features of Art Nouveau can be seen throughout the visual communication industry - like the painting of Marilyn Monroe for "Visages de Renom" by New York illustrator Les Katz or the works of Milton Glaser and his Push-Pin studio.

The Art Nouveau has been evaluated again and again in the last twenty years because of the rise of postmodernism. Artists all over the world are being inspired because of its interesting elements.These include sinuous lines, floral elements, the nature features and the characteristic colours.

Art Nouveau Artwork in The Grand Palais - Paris

Art Nouveau Furniture

Black Sea Art Nouveau

Art Nouveau in Riga

"Tropon" by Henry van de Velde (1898)

References:

The Art Story Foundation, 2013. Art Nouveau [online] available at: http://www.theartstory.org/movement-art-nouveau.htm [accessed 3th November 2013]

BBC, 2013. Art Nouveau [online] available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/homes/design/period_artnouveau.shtml [accessed 3th November 2013]

Apartment Therapy, 2013. Art Nouveau [online] available at: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/quick-history-art-nouveau-142976 [accessed 3th November 2013]

Boundary Space Ltd, 2011. Art Nouveau in Brussels [image online] available at: http://blog.boundaryspace.com/2013/03/art-nouveau-in-brussels/ [accessed 3th November 2013]