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Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau is an elegant decorative art style and architecture which developed in the 1880s and 1890s,
characterized by intricately detailed patterns of curving lines.
Somewhat rooted in the British Arts and Crafts Movement of William Morris,
Art Nouveau became popular across Europe and in the United States.
The name derives from the Maison de l'Art Nouveau, an interior design gallery opened in Paris in 1896,
but in fact the movement had different names throughout Europe. In Germany it was known as 'Jugendstil',
from the magazine Diejugend (Youth) published from 1896; in Italy 'Stile Liberty' (after the London store, Liberty Style)
or 'Floreale'; in Spain 'Modernista', in Austria 'Sezessionstil' and, paradoxically, in France the English term
'Modern Style'
was often used, emphasizing the English origins of the movement.
Art Nouveau was characterized by writhing plant forms and an opposition to the historicism which had
plagued the 19th century. There was a tension implicit throughout the movement between the decorative and the
modern which can be seen in the work of individual designers as well as in the chronology of the whole.
In Britain the style was exemplified by the architecture of
Rennie Mackintosh, and the design work of
the
Macdonald sisters.
The lingering impact of Morris in England slowed down the progress of the new style in design although Mackmurdo,
Godwin, Townsend and even Voysey
were influenced towards
Art Nouveau. It was in illustration that the ideas were
most keenly felt, through the new periodicals and presses -
the Yellow Book,
the Studio, the Savoy, the Hobby Horse -
and though the work of Beardsley,
Ricketts and Selwyn Image.
In France, despite Guimard's famous glass and iron Metro designs, the movement was best expressed in the applied arts,
especially the glassware of Lalique
(1860-1945)
and Galle (1846-1904).
In Belgium, the style was promoted through the
Societe des Vingts (Les Vingt) established in 1884, and including Ensor as well as the more characteristically Art Nouveau
architects Horta
and Van de Velde
in its members. In Spain the style was concentrated in the eccentric hands of
Gaudi in
Barcelona. In Vienna, architects like
Wagner
, Hoffmann
and Olbrich, and artists such as
Klimt gathered to promote the style
through the Secessionist magazine Ver Sacrum.
In Germany, the movement split between the decorative tendencies of Otto
Eckman (1865-1902) and the Pan magazine, and the streamlined design of Behrens. In America architects like Sullivan and
Wright were influenced by European ideas but conceived Art Nouveau in different terms, whilst designers like Tiffany
enthusiastically embraced the movement.
It was the jewellers of Paris and Brussels who created and defined Art Nouveau in jewellery,
and it was in these cities that it achieved the most renown.
Contemporary French critics were united in acknowledging that jewellery was undergoing a radical
transformation, and that the French designer-jeweller
Lalique
was at its heart. Lalique glorified
nature in jewellery, extending the repertory to include new aspects of nature— dragonflies or grasses—,
inspired by his intelligent encounter with Japanese art.
The jewellers were keen to establish the new style in a noble tradition, and for this they looked back to the
Renaissance,
with its jewels of sculpted and enamelled gold, and its acceptance of jewellers as artists rather
than craftsmen. In most of the enamelled work of the period precious stones receded. Diamonds were usually
given subsidiary roles, used alongside less familiar materials such as moulded glass, horn and ivory.
Art Nouveau remained popular until about the time of World War I, and was ultimately replaced by the
Art Deco style.
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