Art Nouveau Designs

• Art Nouveau was a popular style of the1890s and early 1900s, through out Europe and the USA .

• Art Nouveau was a new art form, an original artistic and decorative movement.
• Art Nouveau means new art .

It was a deliberate attempt by artists, designers and architects to create a modern style that looked to nature for inspiration and the result was designs with elegant curving-flowing lines that were often based on plant forms.

In Paris from the mid-1890s works by emerging young designers were exhibited at Samuel Bing's gallery L'Art Nouveau which was opened in 1896.

• The name Art Nouveau was taken from the name of the gallery in Paris (La Maison de l'Art Nouveau)

Paris hosted the World's Fair of 1900, which helped to bring Art Nouveau to center stage.

Hector Guimard, Parisian Art Nouveau designer, was commissioned to design entrances for the city's new subway. The designs are among the most famous icons of the Art Nouveau style.

Art Nouveau can be identified by its sensuous lines, feminine figures - in pre-Raphaelite poses with long, flowing hair and wearing dresses that drape softly. It also features elongated, curvy lines, vertical lines and height, stylised flowers, leaves, roots, buds and seedpods

Other countries had their own names for Art Nouveau:

• Jugendstil (Germany)
• Modernista (Spain)
• Stile Liberty (Italy).
• Art Nouveau in Vienna was known as Secession style .
• In Holland Slaoliestijl (salad oil style) oddly after an advert for salad oil.

Some of the famous names associated with Art Nouveau designs and some of the things they are famous for designing are:

• Alphonse Mucha - posters
• Aubrey Beardsley - book illustrations
• Louis Comfort Tiffany - lighting

• Charles Rennie Mackintosh - architect and designer of furniture and jewellery

• René Lalique - glass and jewellery

• Emile Galle - ceramics, glass and furniture

• Victor Horta - architect

Among its leading exponents were:

• In France were Rene Lalique, Maison Vever, George Fouquet and Lucien Gaillard.
• In Belgium Philippe Wolfers and in Vienna Josef Hoffman.
• In England the leaders were Charles R.Ashbee and Henry Wilson
• In Scotland Charles Rennie Mackintosh

Earlier in 1861 William Morris the English designer was concerned about the design of mass produced articles. This caused him to start the Arts and Crafts Movement in 1861 in an effort to improve the tastes of the Victorian public.

The Arts and Crafts Movement was the fore runner of Art Nouveau, but it persisted into the new period.

The Aesthetic Movement, an English decorative-arts style was created by followers of William Morris during the 1880s. It took its sources from medieval art, but was also influenced by the art of Japan; much of this style was absorbed into Art Nouveau.

Art Nouveau shared the same beliefs in quality goods and fine craftsmanship as the arts and crafts movement but unlike the Arts and Crafts movement it was happy with mass production.

Art Nouveau in Italy.

Was known as stile floreale, a name derived from the curving floral designs favored by the Italian artists and designers or stile Liberty after the famous store in London.

The city of Turin was an important center for the development of Italian Art Nouveau.

In the Art Nouveau period, American artists and designers developed their own version of the new art.

Louis Comfort Tiffany, was one of the greatest glass artists and manufacturers.

Tiffany created masterpieces in the Art Nouveau style.

Tiffany's creations were admired by European artists and patrons.

Ideas and themes Art Nouveau featured and made use of in its designs :

• The free-flowing, curving lines with asymmetrical natural motifs and the influence of Japanese art.

• When used for jewellery it used gemstones to emphasize the beauty of pearls, opals and moonstones and also used colourful enamelling. The jewellery pieces designed as well as the usual pieces of jewellery included elaborate hair ornaments.
• Art Nouveau 'stylised women' appeared on the posters of Alfonse Mucha and as the theme.
• On René Lalique's jewellery, peacocks, dragonflies, and moths also featured.

• Morning glory flowers were used in the stained glass of Tiffany.
• Iris flowers, poppies, waves and seaweed and botanical forms were used in abstract patterns and were used as motifs for mirror and picture frames or used as a repeat pattern on textiles and wallpapers.

Art Nouveau was out of fashion before World War I had begun.

By about 1960, however Art Nouveau was once again looked on with favour and was incorporated into psychedelic style of the 1960s.