Nouveau is a word meaning “new” in French, which is precisely what this movement was. A fin-de-siècle (or end of the century) movement, art nouveau began around 1890 and ended in 1914. Samuel Bing introduced the term “art nouveau” when he opened his 1st art nouveau gallery in December of 1895 in Paris. He believed it a “movement, not style” (American Art Nouveau, Johnson), and sought to create a world-wide phenomenon out of it. Centered in Europe and parts of North America (and later traveled through Japan, China, and Middle East), it was a return to Middle Age-craftsmanship with a mixture of Gothic, Celtic, Rococco, and Japanese art influences. Both futuristic and traditional, art nouveau was a unique take on the graphic arts.
Art nouveau transcended styles; artists, designers, and architects were all in on the movement. It was seen as a rebellion against the Industrial Revolution, a late 19th century movement where machinery reigned supreme. Though the aesthetics were innovative, the mass-produced machines were draining on progression and advancement. So the soft yet sharp style that art nouveau offered was refreshing and offered many avenues for development in various aspects of art. Geoffrey Warren compared it to the female figure (All Color Book of Art Nouveau, Warren), a flowing but controlled line that contradicts by converging. Not limited to the canvas, art nouveau can be seen in posters, sculptures, type faces, lettering, book design, windows, cutlery, furniture, ceramics, stained glass, jewelry, postcards, and interior/exterior design.
Work Cited:
Warren, Geoffrey. All Color Book of Art Nouveau. Octopus Books Ltd., 1972
Johnson, Diane Chalmers. American Art Nouveau. Harry N. Abrams, Inc., September 1979
