Art Movements in History: Art Nouveau
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| Magnolias and Irises, Louis Comfort Tiffany |
The late 19th century saw a push to change how the public viewed art. The world had been engaged with the Romanticism movement. Its emphasis on emotion and natural beauty and, as the Art Nouveau artists proclaimed, its “excessive ornamental design,” had become tired. The creative community wanted to break from the previous decorative art style and move into practical art. The common thought of the late 1800s, was that art should be more than decorative—it should have a purpose to its design and be more accessible to the common public. Influenced by Japanese woodblock prints and taking their cue from the British Arts and Crafts movement around 1880, which also sought to simplify art, the pioneers of Art Nouveau took their first step forward in a push for change.
Depending upon the location and viewing audience, Art Nouveau was known by many names. In Germany, it was referred to as Jugendstil (Youth Style); in Vienna, it was called Sezessionsstil (Seccession Style); in Spain, it was Modernismo; Italy called it Stile Liberty; for the French it was Moderne Style; and the Netherlands gave it the name, Nieuwe Kunst. Because of its form, it was also bestowed less than flattering names, as well, such as Style Nouille (Noodle Style) by some French, and Bandwurmstil (Tapeworm Style) in Germany. However, most of us use the term Art Nouveau, thanks to Siegfried Bing, a German dealer of Japanese Art, who opened a shop in Paris called Maison de l’Art Nouveau in 1895.
As many of the aforementioned names suggest, Art Nouveau developed distinct stylistic characteristics. The artists of this movement borrowed directly from nature. Wavy lines forming flower stalks and vines, which moved rhythmically in either a whiplike or elegant flow, became trademarks of the art. This thought of leaning upon nature, came directly from the influence of Ernst Heinrich Haeckel’s, Kunstformen der Natur (1899)—an illustrated botanical study of art forms in nature.
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| Ernst Heinrich Haeckel’s, Kunstformen der Natur (1899) |
Regardless of the name, the Art Nouveau period spanned many countries and produced both great art and great artists. Among those artists and their creations were Alexander Bigot and his terracotta ornaments in architecture; Gustav Klimt and Victor Prouvé in painting; and Emile Gallé, the Daum Brothers, Louis Comfort Tiffany, René Lalique, and Marcel Wolfers in glass art and jewelry. While these artists, fueled by a need for change, made enormous contributions to this period in art, they could not foresee what was on the horizon in their quest to transform the way art was viewed.
By 1910, shortly before the First World War, Art Nouveau leaned into its “two steps back” portion of the waltz it began only two decades earlier. Blinded by competition and impeded by the laborious process of creating their art, the pioneers of Art Nouveau created themselves out of existence. The more they tried to simplify art and break away from the exhausted Romantic period, the more they reverted to their old ways. To borrow from a familiar phrase, “the more things change, the more they stay the same.”
Although short lived, Art Nouveau paved the way for Art Deco (1920s) and was the precursor of Modernism, which was also keen on the idea of function over form. Society held onto the ideals of Art Nouveau and, as a result, saw a revival of the style, thanks to retrospective showings such as the one held at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London (1966). Today, we not only hold onto those pieces created by the initial movement, but we also have, in our archives, the flowery, psychedelic fashions and designs, which graced fashion magazines, album covers, and commercial designs in the twentieth century.
Art Nouveau may have been a brief waltz in art history, but it is a dance that we have returned to in the past, and one, if I may be hopeful to say, that we will return to once again, in the future.
If you would like to know more about this art movement, please see my reference links below:
“Do not hide Your face from me; Do not turn Your servant away in anger; You have been my help; Do not leave me nor forsake me, O God of my salvation.”
Psalms 27:9
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