Art Nouveau: The pinnacle of decorative arts (1890-1914)

Birth of the Art Nouveau style

The desire to create a new art, understood as a new artistic form, appeared very early, at the end of the 18th century, and preoccupied many theorists and artists throughout the 19th century. It was Johann Heinrich Füssli (1741-1825) , a British Romantic writer and painter, who first introduced the new forms, precursors to the use of arabesques and curved lines, which would become the hallmark of the Art Nouveau style.

Bronze inkwell by Albert Marionnet, Art Nouveau period

Originating from 19th-century Romantic theories, Art Nouveau was based on a break with classicism and a reaction against industrialized society. Quickly recognized as an international movement, Art Nouveau – known as Tiffany in the United States, Arts and Crafts in England, Jugendstil in Germany, and Stile Liberty in Italy – took hold in France in the early 1890s. It was Siegfried Bing , a French art dealer, collector, and patron of the arts of German origin, who gave the new style the name by which it is known today, opening an art gallery in 1895 which he called "L'Art Nouveau".

The Art Nouveau Aesthetic

Conceived as the art of freedom, Art Nouveau imposed no rules on artists. The norms of austere academicism were shattered, transforming Art Nouveau into a transgressive art form in which nature , woman , and eroticism became essential elements. Artists from around the world converged on an international level, drawn to the arabesque, organic, and fluid forms, and the shared reference to sensuality.

Bust of a Young Woman in Carrara marble

Conceived as a total art form, born from the Romantic theories of Gesamtkunstwerk (total work of art in German), Art Nouveau encompassed all areas of life. It can be found in music, painting, furniture, silverware, architecture, and glassware.

The role of nature in the Art Nouveau style

Detail of marquetry from an Art Nouveau period table

The fundamental aesthetic principle governing Art Nouveau was nature. The English critic John Ruskin placed nature at the heart of aesthetic and ethical life. For Ruskin's followers, as for Art Nouveau decorators, nature replaced historicism by providing everyone with a universal language. In the wake of these pantheistic theories, humankind was seen as one with nature. Art Nouveau volumes could thus blend human and natural forms in a new vision of the universe. Hence the increased interest in the natural world and a veritable cult of nature , studied in its most varied forms.

The place of women in Art Nouveau aesthetics

Influenced by the poetry of Baudelaire and Mallarmé, as well as by Symbolism, Art Nouveau celebrated women, placing them in mystical and occult settings. The feminine image was explored particularly through posters, illustrations, sculptures, lamps , and furniture. Among the most recurring themes were diabolical beauty , the treacherous woman , and the sensual woman .

Art Nouveau artists

Famous, the great names of the 1900 era are known worldwide: Daum, Gallé, Mucha, Majorelle, Horta, Gaudi, Guimard, Lalique, Grasset, Bugatti... But many other artists and decorators active at the turn of the century were swept away by the ideals of Art Nouveau: Mary Golay, Emile Vernier or Marcel Debut.

Speckled glass vase attributed to Ernest Léveillé, Art Nouveau period

In an international spirit, these artists work with both traditional media and a wide variety of techniques, constantly inventing new processes: wood, iron, glass, painting, lithography, ceramics, porcelain, advertising posters, enamel, opal...

Art Nouveau Posters

It was in graphic art, and particularly the poster, that the Art Nouveau style found one of its most effective mediums. The evolution of printing techniques, especially color lithography, led to the spectacular rise of large-format posters, which flooded public spaces from 1890 onwards. Poster production lent itself particularly well to the Art Nouveau aesthetic. Line, plane, and flat motifs were the key to the success of most of the products created around 1900. Strong outlines , generally black, flat areas of color , and organic curves composed portraits, compositions, and interior scenes.

The Triumph and Decline of Art Nouveau: 1890-1914

The Art Nouveau style was at its peak between 1890 and 1905, and triumphed at the Universal Exhibition of 1900. Throughout the first decade of the 20th century, Art Nouveau was everywhere and adorned all types of products.

The highly decorative, ornamental imagery was, however, sharply criticized by its opponents, leading to an evolution of Art Nouveau towards a much less sophisticated style, devoid of superfluity. Its forms became more restrained and geometric, giving way to Art Deco , which took over completely from 1920 onwards.

Bibliography

• Art Nouveau: The Decorative Revolution , exhibition at the Pinacothèque de Paris, April 18 - September 8, 2013, Paris, Skira, 2013.
• Alphonse Mucha , exhibition at the Musée du Luxembourg, September 12, 2018 - January 27, 2019, Paris, Editions de la Réunion des musées nationaux - Grand Palais, 2019.