Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau (French pronunciation: [aʁ nu'vo], Anglicised to /ˈɑːrt nuːˈvoʊ/) is an international philosophy[1] and styleof art, architecture and applied art—especially the decorative arts—that were most popular during 1890–1910.[2]The name "Art Nouveau" is French for "new art". It is known also as Jugendstil, pronounced [ˈjuːɡn̩tstiːl ], German for "youth style", named after the magazine Jugend, which promoted it, as Modern (Модерн) in Russia, perhaps named after Parisian gallery "La Maison Moderne", as Secession in Austria-Hungary and its successor states after the Viennese group of artists, and, in Italy, as Stile Liberty from the department store in London, Liberty & Co., which popularised the style. A reaction to academic art of the 19th century, it was inspired by natural forms and structures, not only in flowers and plants but also in curved lines. Architects tried to harmonize with the natural environment. It is also considered a philosophy of design of furniture, which was designed according to the whole building and made part of ordinary life.[3]
The style was influenced strongly by Czech artist Alphonse Mucha, when Mucha produced a lithographed poster, which appeared on 1 January 1895 in the streets of Paris as an advertisement for the play Gismonda by Victorien Sardou, featuring Sarah Bernhardt.[4] It popularised the new artistic style and its creator to the citizens of Paris. Initially named Style Mucha, (Mucha Style), his style soon became known as Art Nouveau.[5]
Art Nouveau was most popular in Europe, but its influence was global. Hence, it is known in various guises with frequent localised tendencies.[6] In France, Hector Guimard's Paris metro entrances were of art nouveau style andEmile Gallé practised the style in Nancy. Victor Horta had a decisive effect on architecture in Belgium.[7]Magazines like Jugend helped publicise the style in Germany, especially as a graphic artform, while the Vienna Secessionists influenced art and architecture throughout Austria-Hungary. Art Nouveau was also a style of distinct individuals such as Gustav Klimt, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Alphonse Mucha, René Lalique, Antoni Gaudí andLouis Comfort Tiffany, each of whom interpreted it in their own manner.[8][9]
Although Art Nouveau was replaced by 20th-century modernist styles,[10] it is considered now as an important transition between the historicism of Neoclassicism and modernism.[9] Furthermore, Art Nouveau monuments are now recognised by UNESCO with their World Heritage List as significant contributions to cultural heritage.[11] The historic center of Riga, Latvia, with "the finest collection of art nouveau buildings in Europe", was included on the list during 1997 in part because of the "quality and the quantity of its Art Nouveau/Jugendstil architecture",[12] and four Brussels town houses by Victor Horta were included during 2000 as "works of human creative genius" that are "outstanding examples of Art Nouveau architecture brilliantly illustrating the transition from the 19th to the 20th century in art, thought, and society".[13]
The style was influenced strongly by Czech artist Alphonse Mucha, when Mucha produced a lithographed poster, which appeared on 1 January 1895 in the streets of Paris as an advertisement for the play Gismonda by Victorien Sardou, featuring Sarah Bernhardt.[4] It popularised the new artistic style and its creator to the citizens of Paris. Initially named Style Mucha, (Mucha Style), his style soon became known as Art Nouveau.[5]
Art Nouveau was most popular in Europe, but its influence was global. Hence, it is known in various guises with frequent localised tendencies.[6] In France, Hector Guimard's Paris metro entrances were of art nouveau style andEmile Gallé practised the style in Nancy. Victor Horta had a decisive effect on architecture in Belgium.[7]Magazines like Jugend helped publicise the style in Germany, especially as a graphic artform, while the Vienna Secessionists influenced art and architecture throughout Austria-Hungary. Art Nouveau was also a style of distinct individuals such as Gustav Klimt, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Alphonse Mucha, René Lalique, Antoni Gaudí andLouis Comfort Tiffany, each of whom interpreted it in their own manner.[8][9]
Although Art Nouveau was replaced by 20th-century modernist styles,[10] it is considered now as an important transition between the historicism of Neoclassicism and modernism.[9] Furthermore, Art Nouveau monuments are now recognised by UNESCO with their World Heritage List as significant contributions to cultural heritage.[11] The historic center of Riga, Latvia, with "the finest collection of art nouveau buildings in Europe", was included on the list during 1997 in part because of the "quality and the quantity of its Art Nouveau/Jugendstil architecture",[12] and four Brussels town houses by Victor Horta were included during 2000 as "works of human creative genius" that are "outstanding examples of Art Nouveau architecture brilliantly illustrating the transition from the 19th to the 20th century in art, thought, and society".[13]
Origins
The origins of Art Nouveau are found in the resistance of the artist William Morris to the cluttered compositions and the revival tendencies of the 19th century and his theories that helped initiate the Arts and crafts movement.[24] However, Arthur Mackmurdo's book-cover for Wren's City Churches (1883), with its rhythmic floral patterns, is often considered the first realisation of Art Nouveau.[24] About the same time, the flat perspective and strong colors ofJapanese wood block prints, especially those of Katsushika Hokusai, had a strong effect on the formulation of Art Nouveau.[25] The Japonisme that was popular in Europe during the 1880s and 1890s was particularly influential on many artists with its organic forms and references to the natural world.[25]Besides being adopted by artists like Emile Gallé and James Abbott McNeill Whistler, Japanese-inspired art and design was championed by the businessmen Siegfried Bing and Arthur Lasenby Liberty at their stores[26] in Paris and London, respectively.[25]
Character
Although Art Nouveau acquired distinctly localised tendencies as its geographic spread increased, some general characteristics are indicative of the form. A description published in Pan magazine of Hermann Obrist's wall hanging Cyclamen (1894) described it as "sudden violent curves generated by the crack of a whip", which became well known during the early spread of Art Nouveau.[27] Subsequently, not only did the work itself become known better asThe Whiplash but the term "whiplash" is frequently applied to the characteristic curves employed by Art Nouveau artists.[27] Such decorative "whiplash" motifs, formed by dynamic, undulating, and flowing lines in a syncopated rhythm, are found throughout the architecture, painting, sculpture, and other forms of Art Nouveau design.
Philosophy and Geography
Art Nouveau is now considered a 'total' style, meaning that it includes a hierarchy of scales of design — architecture; interior design; decorative arts including jewellery, furniture, textiles, household silver and other utensils and lighting; and the visual arts (see Hierarchy of genres.) According to the philosophy of the style, art should be a way of life. For many Europeans, it was possible to live in an art nouveau-inspired house with art nouveau furniture, silverware, crockery, jewellery, cigarette cases, etc. Artists desired to combine the fine arts and applied arts, even for utilitarian objects.[3]