ART NOUVEAU (c. 1880 - 1914)

by Jo Colley 15:08 0 comments

Art Nouveau began an international style spreading across Europe, mostly based in the media of architecture and print-based media. The themes and characteristics of this period of design concluded the Japonisme era with design involving curvilinear, flowing forms based on the natural environment. The Japonisme concept of the decorative motif had a long lasting motif that outlasted the art movement and was what Art Nouveau was shaped around. Other influences include the abstraction of imagery and the interplay of spacious background and intricate foreground designs.

Aubrey Beardsley

An artist that worked mostly in black ink, Beardsley was heavily inspired by Japonisme and it's woodblock prints. A British artist, his works could be seen as the height of the Dionysian concepts of sexuality and grotesque mythological forms. However, his work was highly influential on the ideas of fashion illustration, cementing design as an up and coming industry. A specific work of design where this is evidenced is The Peacock Skirt using graphite and ink in 1893.

"The Peacock Skirt" by Aubrey Beardsley, 1893, Graphite and Ink.

Architecture

Architecture became a key focus of European design during the Art Nouveau period. Antonio Gaudi, Victor Horta and Hector Guimard were the vital architects to the designs that still decorate the buildings, streets and infrastructure of Spain and France today, focusing on the organic and natural forms and bringing this into the design based environment. 

Staircase at the House of Victor Horta, Belgium.

Aspects of both Art Nouveau and it's inspiration from Japonisme can be found in the interior designs of Victor Horta. The staircase itself is curvilinear in it's rounded steps and swirling bannister. The flowing shapes of the black metal frame of the bannister and the natural, stem like, flowing form applied and painted to the wall makes it appear that the staircase is almost growing rather than constructed.

Antonio Gaudi's "Casa Battlo" in Barcelona, Spain.

An architect who worked to maintain this alignment with nature, Antonio Gaudi, created what some criticized as unattractive buildings such as the Casa Battlo. The aesthetic form of the building is complete with curvilinear window panes compared with it's surroundings with flowing shapes rather than the modern and traditional theme of rigid architecture. This shows how the process of architecture and construction has developed throughout art history. The roof is arched and curved with an exterior that features mosaic tiling.

The Paris Metro Architecture by Hector Guimard.

The Paris Metro architecture is an in keeping series of architectural infrastructure throughout Paris forming the underground train systems, spanning 303 stations and 387 station halls. The Metropolitain is one of the most well known designs by Hector Guimard made by glass roofs and cast iron.

Art Nouveau was ultimately a movement based on design rather than art, furthering the aesthetic of architecture, interior design, graphics and product design with it's very versatile, organic sense of design. Despite being a short art period of around 35 years, the art has taken permanent route in European architecture, particularly in Paris and Barcelona.