Art Nouveau
also: Jugendstil · Stile Liberty · Modernismo · Secession style
Art Nouveau was the first self-consciously modern international style, sweeping Europe between roughly 1890 and 1910 under local names - Jugendstil in Germany, Stile Liberty in Italy, Modernismo in Spain, the Secession style in Austria. Its ambition was total: a building, its door handles, its posters, its typography, and its teapots could all speak one visual language. That language drew on the sinuous 'whiplash' line, botanical and insect forms, and the flattened compositions of Japanese ukiyo-e prints, reacting against both academic historicism and industrial mass production - even though its posters and glasswork were themselves products of industry. In graphic design it produced some of the most reproduced images ever made, above all Alphonse Mucha's posters.
Defining characteristics
- Sinuous 'whiplash' curves and asymmetrical organic lines
- Botanical and entomological motifs: stems, flowers, dragonflies, peacocks
- Flattened, decorative space influenced by Japanese prints
- Total design (Gesamtkunstwerk) across architecture, objects, and graphics
- New materials used ornamentally: ironwork, glass, ceramic, lithography
- Stylized female figures integrated into ornamental schemes
Key figures
- Alphonse Mucha (1860-1939) — The poster style most people picture as Art Nouveau
- Victor Horta (1861-1947) — Brussels architect whose buildings defined the curvilinear idiom
- Hector Guimard (1867-1942) — Paris Métro entrances - Art Nouveau made public infrastructure
- Gustav Klimt (1862-1918) — Vienna Secession; gold, ornament, and figuration at their peak
- Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848-1933) — American glass and lamps translating the style into interiors
Example works
- Gismonda (poster) — Alphonse Mucha (1894)
- Hôtel Tassel — Victor Horta (1893)
- The Kiss — Gustav Klimt (1907-08)
Sources
- Art Nouveau - Wikipedia encyclopedia
- Art Nouveau - The Art Story critical
- Jugendstil - Wikipedia encyclopedia