Art Nouveau I INTRODUCTION Detail of Art Nouveau Decoration This detail of a door decoration from a building constructed in the early 20th century in Milan, Italy, illustrates the stylistic themes associated with art nouveau.

Art Nouveau I INTRODUCTION Detail of Art Nouveau Decoration This detail of a door decoration from a building constructed in the early 20th century in Milan, Italy, illustrates the stylistic themes associated with art nouveau. The handcrafted intricacy of the work reflects the reaction of art nouveau artists against the rise of machine-made designs. The soft features of the human face and the robust pattern of leaves illustrate the importance of naturalistic representation. Depictions of flora were so integral to the movement that in Italy art nouveau was also known as stile floreale (floral style). Mauro Pomati/Farabolafoto Art Nouveau (from French for "new art"), movement in Western art and design, which reached its peak during the 1890s. Hallmarks of the art nouveau style are flat, decorative patterns; intertwined organic forms such as stems or flowers; an emphasis on handcrafting as opposed to machine manufacturing; the use of new materials; and the rejection of earlier styles. In general, sinuous, curving lines also characterize art nouveau, although right-angled forms are also typical, especially as the style was practiced in Scotland and in Austria. Art nouveau embraced all forms of art and design: architecture, furniture, glassware, graphic design, jewelry, painting, pottery, metalwork, and textiles. This was a sharp contrast to the traditional separation of art into the distinct categories of fine art (painting and sculpture) and applied arts (ceramics, furniture, and other practical objects). Balzarini House, Milan Milan has a number of buildings in the art nouveau style, including the Balzarini house on Via Pisacane shown here. The ironwork of the balcony railings provides an excellent example of the flowing lines and floral motifs favored by art nouveau designers. In Italy, the style was known as the Liberty style after a department store in London, England, that had popularized it. Mauro Pomati/Farabolafoto The term art nouveau comes from an art gallery in Paris, France, called Maison de l'Art Nouveau (House of New Art), which was run by French dealer Siegfried Bing. In his gallery, Bing displayed not only paintings and sculpture but also ceramics, furniture, metalwork, and Japanese art. Sections of the gallery were devoted to model rooms that artists and architects designed in the art nouveau style. Art nouveau flourished in a number of European countries, many of which developed their own names for the style. Art nouveau was known in France as style Guimard, after French designer Hector Guimard; in Italy as the stile floreale (floral style) or stile Liberty, after British art nouveau designer Arthur Lasenby Liberty; in Spain as modernisme; in Austria as Sezessionstil (secession style); and in Germany as Jugendstil (youth style). These diverse names reflect the widespread adoption of the movement, which had centers in major cities all over Europe--Paris and Nancy in France; Darmstadt and Munich in Germany; Brussels, Belgium; Glasgow, Scotland; Barcelona, Spain; Vienna, Austria; Prague, Czech Republic; and Budapest, Hungary. II BRITAIN Wallpaper by William Morris In the early 19th century manufacturers began to mass-produce wallpaper, and the quality of designs suffered. William Morris, a British artist who had become interested in the design of household furnishings and items for everyday use, began to create handmade wallpapers that he integrated into the overall design of the home. This artichoke design is based on stylized plant motifs, a common theme in art nouveau designs. Art Resource, NY Art nouveau in Britain evolved out of the already established arts and crafts movement. Founded in 1861 by English designer William Morris, the arts and crafts movement emphasized the importance of handcrafted work. Morris's devotion to handmade articles was a reaction against shoddy machine-made products that were flooding the English marketplace as the industrial revolution expanded. The arts and crafts movement also promoted a totally designed environment in which everything from wallpaper to silverware is made according to a unified design. British art nouveau designers of the 1890s shared Morris's dedication to hand-crafted work and integrated designs. To these principles they added new forms and materials, establishing the aesthetic of the art nouveau style. Isolde Isolde is an illustration by the late-19th-century English painter and graphic artist Aubrey Beardsley. The use of decorative line, stylized figure, and flat space exemplifies the art nouveau style. Beardsley did a large number of illustrations for magazines and books. His use of dramatic darks and lights is well suited to the graphic medium. Bridgeman Art Library, London/New York One of the earliest examples of art nouveau in England is a chair designed in 1882 by British architect Arthur Mackmurdo, which exhibits the curving lines associated with the style. Likewise, the fabric designs of Arthur Lasenby Liberty, who opened a shop called Liberty & Co. in 1875, also illustrate an interest in organic forms and curving, decorative patterns. Glasgow School of Art Scottish architect and interior designer Charles Rennie Mackintosh's architectural masterpiece, the Glasgow School of Art (completed in 1909), is an important example of the Art Nouveau style. The building's Art Nouveau features include its wrought-iron gates and an entrance resembling a castle. The exterior walls of the school's rooms comprise large windows that provide light for the art studios and for the two-story library within. Bridgeman/Art Resource, NY In 1888 British designer Charles Ashbee established a workshop and school for artisans in London. Ashbee's furniture and metalwork designs reflect the more rectilinear (straight-lined or right-angled) version of art nouveau style. In the graphic arts, Aubrey Beardsley drew illustrations for periodicals such as The Yellow Book (18941895), and for an edition of the play Salomé (1894) by Irish-born writer Oscar Wilde. Beardsley's vigorous use of line and distinctive double-curves known as whiplash lines have become equated with British art nouveau in the popular imagination. Hill House Interior The art nouveau movement held that architects should have a hand in designing every detail of a building--not only the main structure, but everything from furniture to carpets to fireplace andirons. Scottish architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh demonstrated this principle in his unified design for Hill House (1902), a private home in Helensburgh, Scotland. Mark Fiennes/Arcaid In Glasgow, Scottish architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh also developed a rectilinear version of art nouveau, which he employed in numerous buildings and their furnishings. In the Glasgow School of Art, completed in two phases (eastern section 1897-1899, western section 1906-1909), he used contemporary materials in an elegant, angular style. The simple shapes of the brick and stone exterior clearly indicate the division of space within the building, while large expanses of glass provide a strong visual connection between the interior spaces and the outside world. Window mullions (dividers between panes of glass), doors, and fences use ironwork in an elegant linear or geometric manner. This seemingly simple design offers a strong contrast to the ornate architecture based on past styles that was typical of the time. III BELGIUM AND FRANCE Maison Saint-Cyr, Brussels The elaborate wrought-iron and glass-window facade, center, of this house in Brussels, designed and built in 1903 by Belgian architect Gustave Strauven, displays the flowing lines, inspired by natural vegetation, favored by the art nouveau movement. Erich Lessing/Art Resource, NY Art nouveau architecture in Brussels flourished in the work of Belgian designers Victor Horta and Henry van de Velde. As did Mackintosh in Glasgow, these Belgian designers sought to create a new style, free from the historical references of prevailing traditions. They utilized standard wrought-iron and cast-iron technology, but employed it to create distinctly new forms. In the Hôtel Tassel in Brussels (1892-1893), Horta not only revealed the structural column that supports the second floor, but transformed its cast-iron form into a plantlike stem that terminates in a burst of intertwined tendrils as it connects with other structural elements. Metro Station, Paris Hector Germain Guimard's subway entrances for the Paris Metro (early 1900s) are his most famous creations. Using wrought iron, bronze, and glass, Guimard composed his structures using the curves characteristic of the Art Nouveau style. David Barnes/The Stock Market Similarly, French designer Hector Guimard designed entrances for the Metro stations in Paris (1898-1901) using simple metal and glass forms decorated with curvilinear wrought iron. These are especially memorable examples of art nouveau's delightfully curving naturalistic forms. Bureau by Louis Majorelle Renowned French furniture designer Louis Majorelle designed this mahogany bureau around 1900. Its handcrafted ornamentation, curved angles, and gilded metal trim are hallmarks of the art nouveau style that Majorelle championed during the middle phase of his career. After World War I (1914-1918), Majorelle's work reflected the more abstract designs of the art deco movement. Christie's Images An interest in organic forms is also found in the work of French glass designer Émile Gallé. Working from his hometown of Nancy, Gallé produced a variety of glassware decorated with leaves, vines, and flowers. He fused layers of different colored glass and then cut designs into the glass to reveal the color he wanted, a technique that also added greater depth to the design. Mucha's Poster for Job Cigarettes Alphonse Mucha, a Czech-French poster designer and painter, was a prominent figure in the Art Nouveau movement of the late 1800s and early 1900s. In this poster from 1897 advertising Job cigarettes, the curving tendrils of hair form a decorative pattern typical of the Art Nouveau style. © 2008 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris. Photo: Scala/Art Resource, NY Alphonse Mucha made similar contributions to the development of art nouveau poster design. Born in Czechoslovakia, Mucha worked in Paris as a graphic artist and interior designer. His posters epitomize art nouveau graphic design with their elaborately stylized natural forms, fluid curving lines, and rich colors. IV GERMANY AND AUSTRIA Klimt's The Kiss In his painting The Kiss (1907-1908, Österreichische Galerie, Vienna, Austria), Austrian artist Gustav Klimt portrays a brief moment of passion between two people. This painting demonstrates Klimt's preference for mosaic designs, curling background lines, and angular, two-dimensional characterizations. The eroticism and desperation expressed in the painting are typical of the radical, anxious style of the Vienna Secession movement, founded by Klimt, and closely linked to the European art movement known as Art Nouveau. The artists of the Vienna Secession sought to address more contemporary human concerns and emotions in a highly decorative style. Erich Lessing/Art Resource, NY Art nouveau took hold in a number of German-speaking cities, the most prominent of which were Munich, Darmstadt, and Weimar in Germany, and Vienna in Austria. Known as Jugendstil (German for "youth style"), art nouveau was promoted in Munich through periodicals such as Die Jugend (The Youth). Josef Hoffmann's Palais Stoclet Austrian architect Josef Hoffmann is noted for designing the Palais Stoclet, a private residence in Brussels, Belgium, completed in 1911. The simplicity of its design illustrates the stylistic ideals of the Vienna Secession, a collective of artists who called for a move toward functionality in architecture and design. The Palais Stoclet houses mosaic murals by Viennese painter Gustav Klimt, a friend of Hoffmann's who was also associated with the Vienna Secession movement. Angelo Hornak/Corbis At the head of Munich's Jugendstil movement was Hermann Obrist, a Swiss designer who created a sensation with an exhibition of his embroidery in 1896. Not only did this exhibit challenge the separation between fine and applied arts, but it also introduced the Munich public to the lively organic forms of art nouveau. Obrist's designs, although based on natural forms, often evolved into mysterious shapes that suggest a fantasy world. Majolikahaus, Vienna This apartment building, known as Majolikahaus, in Vienna, Austria, was designed by Austrian architect Otto Wagner at the turn of the 20th century. The facade of the building is covered in ceramic tiles, known as majolica, the form a floral pattern. The building is an excellent example of the Sezession style, the Viennese version of art nouveau. SCALA, Florence The work of German architect August Endell shares this visionary quality. Endell sought to create intense, dynamic forms that would evoke a strong response in the viewer. His plaster relief sculpture for the exterior of Munich's Elvira Photo Studio (1896-1897) does just that. Part dragon, part flying sea creature, part tidal wave, the theatrical relief expands the organic forms of art nouveau into the realm of visionary fantasy. Moser Writing Cabinet Austrian painter and designer Koloman Moser designed this writing cabinet, which is in the collection of the Austrian Museum for the Applied Arts in Vienna. Moser is known for developing works in a variation of the art nouveau style that emphasized right angles as opposed to curves. He helped establish the Vienna Secession, an association of nonmainstream modern artists and architects that promoted the blending of decorative and fine arts. Erich Lessing/Art Resource, NY Stylistic trends in Vienna took a significantly different direction. Led by Austrian artist Gustav Klimt, young artists and architects formed a group called the Wiener Sezession, or Vienna Secession, in protest against the entrenched conservatism of the art establishment in Vienna. As did their counterparts elsewhere in Europe, Secession designers rejected historical styles; but in Vienna they expressed this through an increasing simplification of form. Rather than embracing the writhing organic forms of Endell or Obrist in Munich, Viennese artists moved towards the restrained geometric designs exemplified by the work of Charles Rennie Mackintosh. A case in point is the Palais Stoclet (1905-1911) in Brussels, designed by Viennese architect Josef Hoffmann. This residence summarizes succinctly what had become known in Vienna as Sezessionstil (secession style). Hoffmann utilized traditional building materials--marble, glass, and bronze--but arranged the building around an unconventional, asymmetrical entrance. Outlining the sober marble exterior walls are delicate bronze latticework and edging, which suggest an almost playful quality. There is no historical reference here, only an elegant, simplified form. V SPAIN Casa Batlló by Gaudí When Spanish architect Antoni Gaudí was asked to redesign the front of a conventional apartment building in Barcelona, Spain, he produced the curving facade of the Casa Batlló (1907), shown here. The organic forms--the pillars look like leg bones--and the undulating shapes link Gaudí with the art nouveau movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Vanni/Art Resource, NY The art nouveau movement in Spain is best exemplified in the work of Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí i Cornet, whose designs represent a highly personal response to the art nouveau ideas of his time. Gaudí created one of his most eccentric works in the Templo Expiatorio de la Sagrada Familia (Church of the Holy Family, begun in 1883, construction ongoing) in Barcelona. Dominated by four disproportionately tall spires, the church appears to be a fantastical outgrowth of the earth. Floral designs cover the building façade, and broken tiles glitter on the rippling surface of the towers. In his Casa Milà apartment complex (1905-1907, Barcelona), Gaudí created the illusion of a limestone reef hollowed out by centuries of seawater. Although the entire complex was executed in cut stone, there is not one straight line in the façade. VI UNITED STATES Rookwood Punch Bowl The Rookwood factory in Cincinnati, Ohio, promoted pottery created by artists and art nouveau design based on flowing lines and forms from nature. This Rookwood punch bowl is decorated with a delicate pattern of frogs. Private Collection/Bridgeman Art Library, London/New York In the United States, art nouveau evolved naturally from the craft tradition of the early 19th century. American furniture, glass, metalwork, and jewelry had long been adapted from European models. Travel between the United States and Europe fostered a continuous exchange of ideas, and by the 1890s American designers were making significant contributions to art nouveau ceramics, glassware, and architecture. International expositions in the United States not only highlighted American products but also attracted European visitors who were curious about design trends emerging in this new marketplace. Tiffany Vase American designer Louis Comfort Tiffany helped popularize the art nouveau style with its elongated, curving, plantlike forms, in the United States in the late 19th century. This vase is an example of Favrile glass, a silky, opalescent glass that Tiffany developed. Victoria & Albert Museum, London, UK/Bridgeman Art Library, London/New York Foremost among American art nouveau innovators were Rookwood Pottery of Cincinnati, Ohio, and Tiffany Studios of New York City. Rookwood was well established by the 1890s, producing a wide range of elegant pottery decorated with softly colored natural forms. The glassware of Louis Comfort Tiffany probably constitutes the bestknown American examples of art nouveau design. Using his patented Favrile glass (iridescent glass produced by exposing hot glass to metallic fumes), Tiffany designed stained glass windows, lamps, and a variety of other glass objects. The intense color, fluid organic forms, and innovative techniques incorporated in his designs positioned Tiffany as a leader in international art nouveau design. Carson Pirie Scott Department Store The work of 20th-century American architect Louis Sullivan was influenced by the movement known as Art Nouveau. This picture shows the front facade of the Carson Pirie Scott department store in Chicago (1899-1904), designed by Sullivan. The elaborately decorative cast iron is characteristic of the architect's love of detail. Above the first two floors, the design of the remaining twelve is a contrast in simplicity, with geometric windows evenly spaced within the structural steel skeleton. Art Resource, NY American architect Louis Sullivan also played an influential role in the creation of a new design vocabulary. Although Sullivan is most recognized for his development of the skyscraper, he also produced inventive art nouveau motifs for the ornamental detailing on the Wainwright Building (1890-1891, St Louis, Missouri), Guaranty Building (1894-1895, Buffalo, New York), Carson Pirie Scott department store (1899-1904, Chicago, Illinois), and other structures. Whether in wrought iron or terra cotta, Sullivan's ornamentation is based on plantlike forms and patterns of complex, interlocking lines. VII THE IMPACT OF ART NOUVEAU Art nouveau represents the beginning of modernism in design (see Modern Architecture). It occurred at a time when mass-produced consumer goods began to fill the marketplace, and designers, architects, and artists began to understand that the handcrafted work of centuries past could be lost. While reclaiming this craft tradition, art nouveau designers simultaneously rejected traditional styles in favor of new, organic forms that emphasized humanity's connection to nature. As art nouveau designers erased the barrier between fine arts and applied arts, they applied good design to all aspects of living--from architecture to silverware to painting. In this integrated approach art nouveau had its deepest influence. A variety of ensuing movements continued to explore integrated design, including De Stijl, a Dutch design movement in the 1920s, and the German Bauhaus school in the 1920s and 1930s. Although the stylistic elements of art nouveau evolved into the simpler, streamlined forms of modernism, the fundamental art nouveau concept of a thoroughly integrated environment remains an important part of contemporary design. Contributed By: Gabriel P. Weisberg Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.