iterally French for “New Art”, Art Nouveau was inspired by the Arts and Crafts Movement, Japanese prints, PreRaphaelite painting and the Rococo style. Named after Samuel Bing’s gallery, Salon de Nouveau, which opened on 1895, Art Nouveau is often distinguished by its organic lines, beautiful sensual women, and its floral motifs. It is also known for its opposition to historicism and the belief that art should be for everyone. The movement was one of the first attempts to replace the classical system of architecture and decorative arts. Above all else, Art Nouveau was inspired by nature. Periodicals like The Studio and La Revue Blanche helped expand the movement internationally by keeping the public updated on its latest developments. Artists captured the linear rhythmic flow of the new art while creating graphic design, interior design, architecture, jewelry and art glass.
Facing Page: Alphonse Mucha, Zodiac, 1896. End Papers: Alphonse Mucha, Woman with Daisy, 1900.
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Graphic Design In 1881, a new French law was passed which removed earlier censorship and allowed posters to be hung almost everywhere. As a result, the poster industry prospered. Eugène Grasset, a Swedish Graphic Designer, was one of the first graphic designers to represent Art Nouveau. His illustrations were often inspired by the art of the Middle Ages and by the flat, stylized, and bold graphics of Japanese wood prints. One of his most recognized posters is Exhibition Poster for Salon des Cent (1894). Another designer, Aubrey Beardsley, used organic lines and simple black and white patterns to create his illustrations, as seen in Le Salaire de la Danseuse (1894). He combined the look of the Japanese prints with his own style, thus creating a fresh and original look. As years passed, Art Nouveau slowly began to reach the floral phase as graphic designers developed bolder motifs. Inspired by nature, Moravian Folk art, Byzantine mosaics, and magic, Alphonse Mucha became one of Art Nouveau’s most important designers. A sense of unreality, exoticism, and sensuality are the trademarks of Mucha’s work as seen in his Exhibition Poster (1896) for Salon des Cent. Louis Rhead, an American designer, was inspired by Grasset’s females, contoured lines and flat colors, however, he used a much more vibrant color palette. He also took inspiration from Victorian designs, abstract linear patterns and beautiful curves, as shown in his cover for Harper’s Bazar (1894). Another American designer, Will Bradley, was inspired by Beardsley’s work and used flat shapes and stylized contours, as seen in his cover illustration for Chap Book (1895). Even though some people called him “the American Beardsley,” his work had its own graphic technique and visual unity of type, which greatly differed from Beardsley’s. He used photomechanical techniques to produce repeated, overlapping, and reversed images. His type became a design element, which was put into a narrow column in order for the letters to be the same size and thus create a rectangle.
From top to bottom: Eugène Grasset, Exhibition Poster, 1894. Alphonse Mucha, Salon Des Cent, 1836.
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Aubrey Beardsley, Le Salaire de la danseuse, 1894.
From top to bottom: Will Bradley, Poster for the Chap Book, 1895. Louis Rhead, Cover for Harper’s Bazar, 1894.
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Left to right: Giovanni Michelazzi, Villa Broggi Caraceni, 1911. Louis Comfort Tiffany, Lotus Table Lamp, 1905. Hector Guimard, Castel Béranger, 1895–98.
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The terrifying and edible beauty of Art Nouveau architecture.
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—Salvador Dali
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M. Bouval, Gilt Bronze Candlesticks, 1900.
Interior Design and Architecture One of the main points that distinguished Art Nouveau from the Arts and Crafts movement was the importance it placed upon machinery to create art for the masses. This was best utilized in terms of furniture and decoration. The movement rejected the imitation of past movements, and was against excessive interior decorations and ornaments. Art Nouveau interior design wanted artists to create new and fresh organic forms, to reinvent and to move out of the traditional designs. Artists believed that everything should be united as a whole. Floral forms, waving and asymmetrical lines were often used within this category. Louis Comfort Tiffany’s, Lotus Table Lamp (1905), reflects these forms. Art Nouveau artists also believed in abstracting nature instead of directly imitating it. In M. Bouval’s Gilt Bronze Candlesticks (1900), the beautiful organic movement of the whole composition slowly transform the young girls into tulips.
Victor Horta, Tassel House, 1893-94.
Art Nouveau architecture utilized hyperbolas and parabolas in windows, arches and doors. The movement made use of iron and large, irregular shaped pieces of glass. Architecture principles of the movement included: the exposure of the armature of a building; spatial organization according to a function, the importance of materials and the concept of organic forms. Hector Guimard incorporated these principles in his Castel Béranger (1895–1898).Victor Horta’s, Tassel House (1893–94) was the first building to fit into the Art Nouveau movement due to the materials and decoration used. The Tassel House staircase abandons symmetry and rejects balanced forms and harmony. Instead we find mystery, hyperbolas and a beautiful endless flowing line. The overall composition is elongated, asymmetrical, attenuated and sinuous. Decorative “whiplash” curves were highly popular with Art Nouveau architects, like Giovanni Michelazzi who included them in his Villa Broggi Caraceni (1911).
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Jewelry and Art Glass Art Nouveau saw jewelers as artists rather than craftsmen. Thanks to these innovators, jewelry underwent radical changes. Art Nouveau jewelers included insects, flowers, and anything related to nature in their creations. Molded glass, horn, and ivory were popular materials used in Art Nouveau jewelry. Diamonds played more of a secondary role in their creations instead of being the center of attention. René Lalique was one of the greatest jewelers of the movement. His work was a combination of enamel, precious and semi-precious stones and glass, as seen in his Brooch in Gold (1900). The Vever Brothers’ work featured popular themes of the movement and was always constructed in gold. Their Sylvia (1900) pendant is a prime example of this. Glass art objects were one of the most important and brilliant pieces in the Art Nouveau movement. One of the most recognized glass artists was Emile Gallé, leader of the Nancy school. He created vases of thick, opaque glass which he would later decorate with cobalt oxide, gold dust and acid. His designs included flowers, dragonflies or butterflies and his signature would imitate Japanese calligraphy as seen in Glass Vase with Transparent and Relief Chinoiserie Decorations (1900). Another important glass artist was Louis C. Tiffany, who favored blown glass for his glass art. Irregular forms and subtle vibrance, were trademarks of his work. He also created his own type of glass, named favrile, using opalescent and iridescent coloring.
Clockwise from top to left: Henri and Paul Vever, Sylvia, 1900. Emile Gallé, Glass Vase with Transparent and Relief Chinoiserie Decorations, 1900. René Lalique, Brooch in Gold, 1900.
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Facing page: Louis C. Tiffany, Vase, 1900.
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Top Image: A’shop, Our Lady of Grace, 2011. Left Images (top to bottom): Jim Fitzpatrick, Eriu, 1975. Elin Jonsson, Mother of Dragons, 2013. Marlboro, La Puta, 2011.
Legacy Due to an increase of negative academic attacks and pressure of modernists to simplify and create something completely different, Art Nouveau ended by 1910. Even though the era was short lived, it served as an important transition from Classical Art to Modernism. The references and inspirational objects that were designed in the Art Nouveau movement serve as inspiration for today’s art. Our Lady of Grace (2011), a graffiti mural created by A’shop, a group of 5 Montreal-based artists, is one clear example this. Artist Jim Fitzpatrick work shows a strong Art Nouveau influence, by using beautiful young woman, bold graphics, and organic lines, such in Eriu (1975). Inclusive artists have created Art Nouveau inspired posters of popular pop characters, such as Elin Jonsson’s poster of Game of Thrones, Mother of Dragons (2013). The necessity to renew and break past rules is something that is still important in order to create fresh and original ideas.
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