Art nouveau catalog by Amy Briones

TABLE OF CONTENTS Start of a Movement

Alphonse Mucha

Antoni Gaudi

Louis Comfort Tiffany

Design that inspires

Facing Page Alphonse Mucha, Autumn, 1896

START OF A MOVEMENT rt Nouveau designers sought to do away with the excessive ornamental design of the Victorian era and took a step to modernizing design. They believed function should dictate an object’s form. Art Nouveau drew from the Arts and Crafts movement, which also felt the Victorian-era design was too cluttered. Art Nouveau or also known as “new art”, is most easily characterized by its organic curves and energetic “whiplash” lines. Artists were influenced by nature and commonly used flowers, birds, and the female figure as the most common motifs. Designers and illustrators wanted to make the connection between art and everyday life. Art Nouveau was about incorporating entire life through all forms of art.

Art Nouveau was a short-lived movement that lasted between 18901905. This movement evolved in Europe and was looking to modernize art. The free forming curves and shapes that are inspired by nature are a main characteristic of Art Nouveau. It was influenced by Japanese woodblock artwork that contained the same nature-related design. Art Nouveau encompassed all forms of art including architecture, design, sculpture, furniture, jewelry, embroidery, and painting. Artists of the time believed that design from movements such as the Victorian-era were too ornamental and lacked function. They sought out to make pieces where the function of the object dictated the form. It was an important belief that art should be available to everyone; both rich and the poor. Artists expressed a desire to improve the quality of life. For instance, hospitals were made not only to be functional, but designed beautifully to help patients connect with nature and heal.

Alexander Fisher, Wall Peacock, 1899

Carl Larsson, Getting Ready for a Game, 1901

ALPHONSE MUCHA O

ne of the most well known artists of the Art Nouveau movement was Alphonse Mucha. He was born July 14, 1860 in Ivancice, Moravia. He had always had a love of drawing and in 1877 he gathered together all of his selftaught work and attempted to enter the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague. He didn’t get accepted. In 1887 he moved to Paris and attended Academie Colarossi. When Mucha’s sponsorship ceased at the Academie Colarossi he took on commissions for French and Czech publishers as a source of income. He took up residence in a room above Madame Charlotte’s Caron’s Cremerie. The café was known for allowing art students to eat in exchange for paintings. From there Mucha regularly contributed to Le Costume au theatre et a la ville, a magazine that contained fashion for theater costumes. Mucha’s big break came along on December 26, 1894. He was out making printing proof corrections for a friend, when he was asked to make a last minute commission. The actress Sarah Bernhardt needed a poster for the upcoming theater production Gismonda. Mucha had a week to complete the poster. The finished product became the beginning of Mucha’s most signature style, which had long elegant shapes and a pastel palette. The Parisian public loved it so much some people went out at night with razors to take the posters down for themselves. Sarah Bernhardt was so impressed that she signed a six-year contract with Mucha for her future productions.

Facing Page Alphonse Mucha, Biscuits Lefeure-Utile , 1896

Mucha’s career exploded from that point on. He was commissioned to make posters, decorative panels, and other advertisements. His signature style during the Art Nouveau era was the pastel palette, flower motifs, and long tendril like hair of his subjects. Most of Mucha’s posters during that time contained framing devices to draw the onlooker’s attention to the main subject. Half circle framing devices were used frequently in Mucha’s theater posters for Sarah Bernhardt. Other posters used panellike separation to divide up the background behind the main subject, like in the Poster for ‘Moët & Chandon: Dry Imperial’ in 1899. Mucha’s attention to the way he portrayed the hair of the figure was a main feature of his style. The hair was always long and intricate with tendrils of hair making circular shapes. The signature Art Nouveau “whiplash” curve was always present in is pieces. Besides posters, Mucha also took part in package and jewelry design. The same “whiplash” curves and framing devices are seen in both.

Alphonse Mucha, The Pen, 1899

Facing Page: Left-to-Right Alphonse Mucha, Gismonda, 1894 Alphonse Mucha, La Dame Aux Camelias, 1896

Alphonse Mucha, Polyanthus, 1899

Alphonse Mucha Menu Moet & Chandon, 1899

Facing Page Alphonse Mucha, detail from Flirt-Biscuits Lefeure-Utile, 1895

ANTONI GAUDI hile Mucha’s work was mostly focused on poster art and paintings, Antoni Gaudi was an Art Nouveau architect. Gaudi was born in 1852 in either Riudoms or Reus, Spain. His exact birthplace is unknown because no supporting documents have been found about him. He was very proud of his Mediterranean heritage and believed that it held the innate gift towards the arts and creativity. Gaudi went to join the school of Architecture in Barcelona at the age of 16. In order to help finance his studies, he worked as a draughtsman for architects and constructors such as Leandre Serrallach and Francisco de Paula del Villar y Lozano. Gaudi’s main influences were gothic and oriental architecture, which were very popular in Spain. He did not travel around Europe, but gained knowledge through his education. His first works were lampposts for Plaça Reial. In 1882 he received a commission from Eusebi Güell. The Bodegas Güell, a wine cellar, was designed by Gaudi for Güell and became one of his most popular architectural designs. He gained many commissions that same year.

Facing Page Antoni Gaudi, El Templo Expiatorio de la Sagrada Familia, 1883-1926

Art Nouveau influenced Gaudi the most during that time and encouraged him to explore more with shapes and not to rely on historical styles that have been done. One of his masterpieces, the Casa Batlló, was one of his architectural pieces that was developed through his newfound style. Most of the building is constructed with curved lines and shapes with a minimal amount of straight edges. It’s an eclectic building that has mosaic on the exterior and the roof had been referenced to the back of a dinosaur or dragon with its scale-like mosaic shingles. Gaudi’s style references back to the naturalist take of Art Nouveau. In his work shapes are taken from nature but he doesn’t let that dictate his design. He uses imagination to bring the organic shapes to life in his architecture.

Antoni Gaudi, Park Güell, 1900-14

Antoni Gaudi, Casa Batillo, Number 43 Passeig de Gracia, 1904-6

Antoni Gaudi, Casa Batillo Roof and Tower, 1904-6

Antoni Gaudi, Casa Batillo Animal Balcony, 1904-6

Top Image Antoni Gaudi, Park GĂźell, Hall of 100 Columns 1900-14

Right Image Antoni Gaudi, Palau GĂźell, Carrer Nou de la Rambla Entrance,1886-9

Facing Page Antoni Gaudi, Casa Batillo Interior,1904-6

LOUIS COMFORT TIFFANY W

hile Europe was the primary source of Art Nouveau, North America had it’s own Art Nouveau artist by the name of Louis Comfort Tiffany. Tiffany was born in New York City, New York. He went to school at Pennsylvania Military Academy and then Eagleswood Military Academy. His first painting experience was under George Inness and later Samuel Colman. Tiffany then attended the National Academy of Design in New York. Although he started out a painter he gained an interest in glassmaking. He worked in several glasshouses between 1875 and 1878. Tiffany then formed Louis Comfort Tiffany and Associated American Artists with fellow artists Candace Wheeler, Samuel Colman, and Lockwood de Forest. During that time, President Chester Alan Arthur did not like the design of the White House. He hired Tiffany’s firm to redecorate, which in turn ended up being the firm’s most distinguished work. Tiffany refurnished, repainted, put up new wallpaper, and installed Tiffany glasswork to gaslight fixtures and windows. He preferred using cheap jelly jars for glasswork because it contained the mineral impurities that finer glass lacked. Tiffany then developed the “copper foil” technique where glass pieces were lined with copper foil and then soldered together. The Louis Comfort Tiffany and Associated American Artists broke up due to Tiffany’s desire to work on art only in glass. He founded his own company, Tiffany Studios, in 1902. It is primarily known for its production in stained glass windows and Tiffany Lamps, but he also designed other interior decorations.

Facing Page Louis Comfort Tiffany, Four Seasons “Summer” 1890

Tiffany’s designs contain the signature Art Nouveau take on naturalism. Nature is a primary source for his stained glass windows. What is interesting is that some of his work contains the same framing devices found in Alphonse Mucha’s work. The Pastoral Window at Second Presbyterian Church in Chicago, Illinois is one example. It contains divisions in the nature scene very similar to some of Mucha’s posters. Tiffany’s lamps are all derivative of floral themes, which are inspired by glass artist Emile Galle. They let the shape of the plant dictate the shape of the shade. Facing Page Clockwise Louis Comfort Tiffany, Stained Glass window,1890s Emile Galle, Glass Vase, 1889 Louis Comfort Tiffany, Gould Peacock Lamp

Louis Comfort Tiffany, Grapevine Lamp

Top Image Louis Comfort Tiffany “Fish” Mosaic 1908

Right Image Louis Comfort Tiffany Rose Bower Lamp

Facing Page Louis Comfort Tiffany Hudson River Stained Glass window

DESIGN THAT INSPIRES A rt Nouveau gave new insight into how art should be made. Instead of copying what is seen in nature, artists were encouraged to use their imagination and make their own designs. As Art Nouveau developed further into the century, the heavily ornamental decorations that the movement scorned started to reappear in later designs. Mass manufacturing made it easier to duplicate already existing pieces. Later artists simply mimicked the designs instead of understanding the message earlier Art Nouveau artists were trying to get across. Art Nouveau slowly declined until it disappeared with the coming of World War I. Even though the movement was short-lived, it continues to influence today. During post WWII in the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;60s, psychedelic posters were inspired by Art Nouveau. Although the designs were much more shocking and brighter in color, they contained the same undulating lines that were prominent in the Art Nouveau movement. Milton Glaser, a famous American graphic designer, shows Art Nouveau influence in the work he creates. One example of his work he did for Gundel, is the Gundel Lady in Chair that uses the same whiplash lines for the lettering and a similar color palette to Art Nouveau. Also even though Tiffany Lamps were made in the 1900s, they are still made and sold today. Many artists continue to draw from the many styles of Art Nouveau from its nature motifs, sinuous lines, and floral elements. It will continue to influence many generations to come.

Milton Glaser Gundel Lady in Chair

Milton Glaser Dylan Poster 1967

Victor Moscoso Avalon Ballroom Poster 1967

Ariel Arburola Lolita Pinata 2007

Facing Page Wes Wilson Fillmore Auditorium Poster, 1966

BIBLIOGRAPHY “Art Nouveau Movement, Artists and Major Works.” The Art Story. Web. 2 Nov. 2015. http://www.theartstory.org/movement-art-nouveau.htm “Art Nouveau (c.1890-1914).” Art Nouveau Design: Characteristics, History, Artists. Web. 2 Nov. 2015. http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/history-ofart/art-nouveau.htm “The Social Agenda of Art Nouveau.” Collectors Weekly. Web. 2 Nov. 2015. http://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/guest-column-the-socialagenda-of-art-nouveau/ Meggs, Philip B., and Alston W. Purvis. Meggs’ History of Graphic Design. 5th ed. Hoboken, N.J.: J. Wiley & Sons, 2006. 196-231. Print. Paul, Tessa. The Art of Louis Comfort Tiffany. New York: Exeter :, 1987. Print. Gill, John. Gaudí. Bath: Parragon, 2004. Print. https://www.flickr.com/photos/kg-23/72157624174884203/ with/4710409311 http://psychedelic-sixties.tumblr.com http://www.behance.net

COLOPHON Type

The text is set in 12-point Times New Roman. The main headings is set in 75-point Teutonic. The subheadings is set in 24-point Teutonic. The captions is set in 10-point Book Antiqua.

Design and Layout Amy Briones Cover Design Inspired by A. A. Turbayne Amy Briones Catalog Design Graphic Design 4, Typography Fall 2015 November 24, 2015