AND: Art Nouveau Part 2
 |
| An art nouveau exterior I shot in Paris, Yes, it's an apartment building |
Art Nouveau: 1880s until about 1912
Disclaimer: This 3 part
series is simply an effort to help those who want to know the difference
between three of the major art movements of the late 19th and early 20th century, Arts and
Crafts, Art Nouveau and Art Deco, in a nutshell. Lots of reading available out
there for those want to know more. To Keep them straight A N D, Arts and Crafts, Art NOUVEAU, and Art DECO.
 |
| A romantic Nouveau interior |
Art Nouveau rose out of, and
in some instances, at the same time the Arts and Crafts movement. Designers,
architects, artists and artisans resonated to the free and extravagant movements
of nature found in sinuous leaves, “whiplash curves”, birds, flower and
feathers.
 |
| Vican deco jewelry |
Art Nouveau artists and
designers were looking for a new way to join art and design in a new vocabulary
of making. Art Nouveau was romantic, and looked to different inspirations in
different countries. For the Russians, old folk tales, the French, their Golden
Age of design. All seem to have found their primary inspiration in nature’s
vitality and cycles of life and death. They embraced the fact that nature was a
force unto itself and used the newfangled psychology of Freud and company, lots
of symbolism and the supernatural, e.g. fairies, mermaids, gods and goddesses.
 |
| Rene Lalique design |
Nouveau is different from
Arts and Crafts, which it grew from in many ways. Arts and Crafts highlighted
natural materials, simple and linear construction, lots of natural wood and
clean lined artisanal objects . Art Deco, far curvier,
 |
| A Paris Metro Station, which took advantage of the extreme curves the new material cast iron was capable of. |
Designers were enthralled by ‘modern’
materials such as cast iron, to construct a true and exuberant marriage between
art and materials. If you have ever seen the fantastical metro entrances in
Paris, France from this period, you will start to understand how Art Nouveau
fused material and design in a total work of art. The romance of Art Nouveau
disappeared with the reality of war in 1910, the softness gave way to the hard
lines of Art Deco and was pretty much ignored and discarded as frivolous for
many years. It has seen a comeback since the 1960s as we are looking for beauty
in a technological world.
 |
| An Alphonse Mucha poster set |
Graphic arts such as posters
exploded in this era of easy mechanical reproduction and are still reproduced
and collected today. Artists heavily
influenced and active in the art nouveau movement included Gustav Klimt,
Alphonse Mucha, Aubrey Beardsley, Henri Toulouse Lautrec and Antonio Gaudi.
 |
| Lalique's Spirit of the Wind |
Rene Lalique will be forever known as the most
exquisite designer in glass and precious metals and stones. Interestingly, his
glass perfume bottles were one of the few things besides graphic images such as
posters, which could be mass produced. Lalique bottles are extremely
collectible and pricey but still to be found. https://rlalique.com/rene-lalique-perfume-bottles
 |
| This Rene Lalique Eucalyptus for Bouchon will set you back about $6000 |
Although the movement is past
these artists are all known to us by name and their work is still instantly
recognizable.
Comments
Post a Comment