|
Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau was an international movement and style of art, architecture and applied art – especially the decorative arts – that peaked in popularity at the turn of the 20th century (1890–1905). The name “Art Nouveau” is French for “new art,” but it was known in Germany as “Jugendstil,” German for “youth style.”Art Nouveau is characterized by organic, especially floral and other plant-inspired motifs, as well as highly-stylized, flowing curvilinear forms. Art Nouveau was an approach to design according to which artists should work on everything from architecture to furniture, making art part of everyday life.
A description published in Pan magazine of Hermann Obrist’s wall-hanging Cyclamen (1894) described Art Nouveau as “sudden violent curves generated by the crack of a whip.” Subsequently, not only did the work itself become better known as “The Whiplash,” but the term “whiplash” is frequently applied to the characteristic curves employed by Art Nouveau artists. Such decorative “whiplash” motifs, formed by dynamic, undulating, and flowing lines, are found throughout the architecture, painting, sculpture, and other forms of Art Nouveau design
Art Nouveau is now considered a “total” style encompassing not only the visual arts, but also architecture, interior design, lighting, and the decorative arts including jewelry, furniture, textiles, household silver, and other utensils. To many Europeans, Art Nouveau encompassed a whole way of life. It was possible to live in an art nouveau-inspired house with art nouveau furniture, silverware, crockery, jewelry, cigarette cases, etc. The Art Nouveau movement wanted to make art part of everyday life, break all connections to classical times, and bring down the barriers between the fine arts and applied arts. Art Nouveau was underlined by a particular way of thinking about modern society and new production methods, attempting to redefine the meaning and nature of the work of art, so that art would not overlook any everyday object, no matter how utilitarian. Hence the name Art Nouveau – “New Art.”
By the start of the First World War, however, the highly stylized nature of Art Nouveau design—which itself was expensive to produce—began to be dropped in favor of more streamlined, rectilinear modernism that was cheaper and thought to be more faithful to the rough, plain, industrial aesthetic that became Art Deco.
|
|
