 |
| Tiffany |
The Art Nouveau movement began in 1890 with artists and designers in Paris, Brussels and London. Each place had its own interpretation of the ideas and themes behind it, the Austrian name being the Secession, Germany referring to it as Jugendstil and there was also the Glasgow School. The design differed even further when designers in Italy, Spain, Russia and the USA became involved.
 |
| Tiffany |
The movement lasted until the First World War but had a revival in the 1960s when the look became popular again with the event of the Counter Culture.
 |
| Alphonse Mucha |
Some of the most prominent examples of the design are Tiffany Glass, book designs by Aubrey Beardsley and posters by Alphonse Mucha.
There are also the textile and furniture designs by Charles Rennie Mackintosh and his wife Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh, and, among the others who followed the style was Arthur Rackham
 |
| Charles Rennie Mackintosh |
The sinuous lines of Art Nouveau were based on forms in the natural world, one of the iconic symbols being the 'whiplash' line which curls back on itself and seems alive, wanting to 'whip' off the design. According to the Victoria and Albert Museum it is a metaphor; it
'displays in graphic form the radical drive to break away from the constraints of tradition.'
 |
| Tiffany |
This was one of the main ideas behind the Art Nouveau movement: to do away with tradition, as up until then, art had been dominated by historical influences. The artists and designers were influenced by medieval art and also by Celtic art with its intertwining lines, but they wanted to make it modern. Instead of producing work with the traditional, old fashioned styles, they wanted to be original and innovative, taking their influences and making them new with modern looks.
 |
| Alphonse Mucha |
As Art Nouveau was the movement which straddled the turn of the century, with the old and new combining as new technologies and industries came about, it combined those ideas of old and new, tradition and modernism, playing with the tension that combination created.
 |
| Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh |
 |
| Aubrey Beardsley |
Until the advent of Art Nouveau, art had been seen as superior to craft but the designers wanted to challenge this and bring them to an equal level. Alongside this, one of their principles was that the product should be well crafted and not produced on an industrial level. They wanted beautiful, individual items. Craft was seen as superior to industrial production - something we are finding out again in the 21st Century with the rise of handmade products and their value against mass produced items which can easily be discarded to add to the environmental problems we face.
 |
| Alphonse Mucha |
Art Nouveau spread quickly through Europe and was applied to a number of different disciplines including architecture, jewellery, furniture, textiles, posters, book covers, glass and ceramics.
 |
| Aubrey Beardsley |
Another influence of Art Nouveau was the Pre-Raphaelites who shared their love and portrayal of nature. Flowers were one of the main features of the designs, along with tendrils, leaves, wings, feathers and seedpods. However, geometric shapes were used alongside them providing a contrast, particularly in the work of Charles Rennie Mackintosh.
 |
Women were a prominent feature of Art Nouveau as well, portrayed in a stylised way rather than natural, but they seem to be surrounded by, if not part of, nature, sometimes even the personification of the seasons. This prominence of the natural world seems to be a portrayal of our relationship with and place in nature, an exploration of where we fit in: part of it or have we separated ourselves? Either way, nature was brought indoors with the furniture and decorative objects which the designers and craftsmen made. Perhaps they were trying to influence people to see the beauty in nature again, to reconnect with it after the effects of the Industrial Revolution.
 |
| Privat Livemont |
Symbolism was another thing the artist and designers incorporated into their work and another theme they shared with the Pre-Raphaelites. The Victorian era was obsessed by all things spiritual and mystical of course and symbols were combined with art to portray mythical or spiritual themes, which the artist wanted the viewer to understand. For example, poppies, lilies and roses were symbols of love and death. The art was meant to say something, not to just be an object of beauty to be looked at and nothing else.
 |
| Victor Horta |
When the Art Nouveau movement ended with the First World War, the Modernist ideas within it carried on but within other movements which took its place. Art Deco and the Bauhaus were two of the artistic styles which came in its wake and its influence is still felt today as many look to it for inspiration, so Art Nouveau is still has a strong identity.
You can find more on Art Nouveau by clicking these links: The Art Story
V&A
The Tate
There's also much more on Art Nouveau in this interesting article on Artsy
