Art Nouveau
Description
Art Nouveau (/ˌɑːr(t) nuːˈvoʊ/ AR(T) noo-VOH; French: [aʁ nuvo] ⓘ; lit. 'New Art'), Jugendstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and flowers. Other characteristics of Art Nouveau were a sense of dynamism and movement, often given by asymmetry or whiplash lines, and the use of modern materials, particularly iron, glass, ceramics and later concrete, to create unusual forms and larger open spaces. It was popular between 1890 and 1910 during the Belle Époque period, and was a reaction against the academicism, eclecticism and historicism of 19th-century architecture and decorative art. Read more ↗
Key Artists
Alphonse Mucha
Czech painter and decorative artist whose celebrated 1894 poster for Sarah Bernhardt ('Gismonda') birthed 'Le Style Mucha', defining the Art Nouveau look with sinuous whiplash hair and botanical halos.
Hector Guimard
The preeminent French Art Nouveau architect and designer who created the world-famous cast-iron, plant-inspired entrances for the Paris Métro ('Style Métro') for the 1900 World's Fair.
Victor Horta
Belgian architectural pioneer whose 1893 Hôtel Tassel in Brussels introduced the very first complete Art Nouveau building, unifying curving ironwork, stained glass, and organic wall frescoes.
Louis Comfort Tiffany
American master of decorative arts who created iridescent 'Favrile' glass, stained glass windows, and nature-inspired lamps celebrating the movement's organic shapes and vibrant color.
Charles Rennie Mackintosh
Scottish architect and leader of the Glasgow School who blended Art Nouveau's flowing organic lines with severe, eccentric geometry and elongated proportions.
Antoni Gaudí
Catalan architectural genius who developed Modernisme (Spanish Art Nouveau), transforming buildings like Casa Batlló and Sagrada Família into living, organic sculptural ecosystems.
Gustav Klimt
President of the Vienna Secession who integrated Art Nouveau ornament, sinuous golden mosaics, and sensuous Symbolism into iconic turn-of-the-century portraiture.
Famous Artworks
Fun Facts
When Alphonse Mucha delivered his first poster for actress Sarah Bernhardt on Christmas Eve in 1894, Parisian art lovers were so mesmerized by the design that they bribed bill stickers or cut the posters down off public hoardings with razors.
↗ Source: moma.org
Art Nouveau was brought to a massive global audience by the 1900 Exposition Universelle in Paris, but despite its incredible international popularity, the style was almost entirely killed off by the outbreak of the First World War in 1914 as tastes shifted toward geometric austerity.
↗ Source: tate.org.uk