EL PASO MUSEUM OF ART AUGUST 25 - December 3, 2015
rt Nouveau artists based their art on modernity, innovation and youth. Created by a long phase of preparations, it prospered in the last decade of the nineteenth century and the early twentieth century. It first appeared in Western Europe and quickly spread throughout the world, becoming one of the first movements to be recognized on an international scale. The name Art Nouveau came from Siegfried Bing’s art gallery, Salon de l’Art Nouveau in Paris where Japanese art and “new art” was displayed and sold. As the movement spread throughout the world, this type of art was known by several other names. For example, “Liberty Style” was the name given to it in England, which was later adopted by the Italians who first recognized this movement as the florist style. Other names include “Modern Style,” “Secession style,” Jugendstil, “Yatching,” and the Style Nouille. Influenced by Ukiyo-e Japanese art, organic, biomorphic and phytomorphic forms are immediately found in Art Nouveau works. Artists’ imitations of nature contributed more than to the undulation of lines. Additionally, it characterized a multitude of small, intensely vibrant parts that complement linear rhythms. Art Nouveau’s love for ornamentation grew from a desire for symbolic-organic structure. One of the crucial characteristics of Art Nouveau was its adaptation to modern life in terms of the industrial revolution. Art Nouveau had an underlying character of protest against the traditional and the commonplace, and it embraced all areas of the arts, including architecture, decorative arts, and graphic design.
Alphonse Mucha, Reverie, 1897.
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Architecture
THIS PAGE, CLOCKWISE, FROM TOP LEFT Victor Horta, Tassle House, 1893 - 1894. Henry Van de Velde, Chair design for “Bloemenwerf ” House, 1895. Henry Van de Velde, Bloemenwerf House, 1895–1896.
NEXT PAGE, FROM TOP TO BOTTOM Hector Guimard, Paris Metro Entrance, 1899–1904. Antoni Gaudí, Casa Milá, 1905–1907.
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In Architecture and interior design, artists adopted biomorphic qualities, concentrating on curvilinear ornamentations in the form of fluid linear motifs and plant forms. These were depicted in diverse materials like iron work, molded glass, brick work and combined with less familiar materials such as horn and ivory. Artists like Belgian designer Henry Van de Velde believed they should never aim at creating a single work of art but rather a harmonious and unified complex of parts to display as a whole. He did not restrict himself to architectural design, but also designed the furnishings and furniture of a model house at Bloemenwerf he built for himself. The Tassel House in Belgium, designed by Belgian architect and designer Victor Horta, is a highly decorated and ornamented example of Art Nouveau interior design. Hector Guimard, a French architect and designer, created
the entrances to the Metro stations in Paris, France. They are perfect examples of phytomorphism—a style that draws
forms from the vegetable kingdom. The railing, balustrades
and lamp holders are all designed after plant patterns,
incorporating the heavy use of curvilinear ornamentations.
The Spanish Architect, Antonio Gaudí, created perhaps the
most famous complex of civil buildings in Barcelona, Spain.
In Casa Milá, Gaudi’s use of line dominated a graceful, snakelike movement throughout the entire building. Additionally,
Gaudí rejected the use of classic symmetry with doors and
windows set in an unusual order. His main point was to harmonize buildings with the natural environment.
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Glasswork The Decorative arts took the form of jewelry, furniture, textiles, lighting, fine arts and glassmaking. Some of the greatest artists in this area were the American glassmaker, Louis Comfort Tiffany and French glassmaker, Émile Gallé. Tiffany succeeded in making stunning glass vases. He concentrated on the external form and produced unusual, bold, biomorphic shapes. Tiffany’s designs for vases imitate a flower—the bulb, the stem, even the unfolding corolla as seen on his Jack-in-the-Pulpit vase. Gallé was one of the most outstanding figures in the French Art Nouveau movement. He applied the Art Nouveau style to polychrome glass vases with a peculiar accentuation on certain surfaces and, just as Tiffany, concentrated on floral motifs. His Silvered Glass vase features a delicate finish, further accented with stylized vines. Like Van de Velde, Gallé believed that every aspect of life should be covered to provide a suitable environment for social life.
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PREVIOUS PAGE Émile Gallé, Vase, 1846.
THIS PAGE, CLOCKWISE, FROM TOP LEFT Louis Comfort Tiffany, Jack-in-the-Pulpit Vase, 1848. Émile Gallé, Vase, 1894. Louis Comfort Tiffany, Floriform Vase, 1900. Émile Gallé, Flambe d’Iris Vase, 1846. Louis Comfort Tiffany, Jack-in-the-Pulpit Vase, 1848.
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Graphic Design
Art Nouveau graphic artists were able to reach a wider audience through their designs in newspaper and magazine illustrations and posters. Two graphic artists working in Paris, Jules Chéret and Eugène Grasset, played an important role in the transition from the Victorian to the Art Nouveau era. Chéret idealized the representation of women in mass media creating a new branch of art that served the commercial industry. After Chéret retired, Grasset, followed in his graphic design footsteps. Grasset’s particular style was known as “coloring-book style,” because he used thick contour lines to form shapes into flat areas of color.
were Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Théophile Alexandre Steinlen, Jan Toorop, and the legendary Alphonse Mucha.
Mucha’s work was the most famous during this period. His subjects were often projected as exotic and sensuous, as they expressed no specific age, nationality, or historical period. His most famous design elements were the stylized hair, patterns and curvilinear shapes which grew into a signature of the era. His poster for Job cigarette papers is a perfect model of his way of working.
Toulouse-Lautrec’s poster, La Goulue au Moulin Rouge, broke In England, Aubrey Beardsley’s work became known by his new ground in poster design by creating dynamic patterns of striking pen line and vibrant black-and-white work, particularly, flat planes. This poster showed shapes as symbols suggesting his powerful use of “the black spot” as in compositions like his a particular event. Henri Van de Velde’s poster Tropon food illustrations for Sir Thomas Malory’s Morte d’Arthur. concentrate, depicts a swirling configuration. His work developed It has been noted that what makes a poster, book, magazine or catalog from forms inspired by plant motifs to rhythmic linear patterns. Art Nouveau is the serpentine or whiplash line, the flattening of space His use of color shows another characteristic of Art Nouveau and importance given to the surface upon which the work is done. prints—the brilliant ochre and orange and the simple composition, Some of the most talented artists in the poster category combines a new style of color choices with the curvy lines.
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PREVIOUS PAGE, FROM LEFT TO RIGHT Jules Chéret, “L’Auréole de Midi,” 1879. Eugéne Grasset, Exhibition Poster, 1894.
THIS PAGE, CLOCKWISE, FROM TOP LEFT Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, “La Goulue au Moulin Rouge” Poster, 1891. Alphonse Mucha, Poster for Job cigarette papers, 1898. Aubrey Beardsley, Morte d’Arthur Illustration, 1893. Henri Van de Velde, Poster for Tropon Food Concentrate, 1899.
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Legacy Despite the fact that Art Nouveau lasted a mere two decades, many contemporary artists are still influenced by this beautifully ornamental style. Mucha’s prints seem to have created the greatest impact on today’s illustrators and printmakers. An example of how Art Nouveau is still influencing designers is the well-known Yugioh! Card game. Most cards in the deck portray the Art Nouveau-inspired use of winding lines and decorative ornamental patterns. Those that feature a female character in their center can be easily linked to Mucha’s compositions. Aya Kato is a Chinese popular illustrator around the world. Her designs are the combination of Art Nouveau, graphic design, manga, and Japanese ukiyo-e prints. Her Dream illustration, features a feminine figure along with vegetable curves surrounded by an Art Nouveau-inspired border. Mucha’s print, Rose, was the clear inspiration for Aya Kato’s feminine figure. Just as Aya Kato, Isis M. is another example of Mucha being a inspiration to young artists. Her pearl necklace work, features a feminine figure in front of a circular figure and surrounded by a Mucha-Inspired border. Art Nouveau was a response to the Industrial Revolution, but its commercial application gave it a universal appeal, truthfulness and lasting presence.
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Alphonse Mucha, Rose, 1898.
Aya Kato, Dream, 2007. Isis M., Pearl Necklace, 2009. Kazuki Takahashi, Dark Magician Girl, Yugioh! Card deck, 1999-2008.
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