Art Nouveau - A Beginner's Guide

It is only comparatively recently that Art Nouveau was accepted as a 'style' and accorded any real recognition. It had been seen as a collection of different styles with little in common except, perhaps, a taste for excess and flamboyant decoration.

Not only is there no consensus on the exact definition or characteristics of Art Nouveau, there is even some argument over the period it covered although generally it is thought to be from the 1890s to about 1910.

Art Nouveau was not universally acclaimed, particularly in England. Many critics of the period saw it as decadent and self indulgent. For example, the sculptor, Sir Alfred Gilbert who created Eros in Piccadilly Circus, said "L'Art Nouveau, forsooth! Absolute nonsense! It belongs to the young lady's seminary and the duffer's paradise..." This was not untypical of the feelings of the time.

Picture: Art Nouveau furniture by Gustave Serrurier-Bovy, Musée d'Orsay. Paris, France.

Picture Copyright © Haguard Du Nord - Creative Commons License.

In London, the famous Liberty department store had been instrumental in encouraging and promoting Arts and Crafts. Arthur Lasenby Liberty, its proprietor, knew many of the designers and, in the 1890s, promoted Art Nouveau in both the London and Paris stores. Indeed, in Italy, Art Nouveau was known as Stile Liberty so synonymous was Liberty & Co with the style.

Liberty sold work by designers like Lindsay P. Butterfield, who produced textiles and wallpaper, and Archibald Knox who designed across a wide range from pewter and jewellery to carpets and clocks.

Picture: Candlesticks by Archibald Knox, now in the Carnegie Museum of Art.

Picture Copyright © Piotrus - Creative Commons License.

A Metal and Leaded Glass Hanging Shade, circa 1900 Giclee Print
Charles Rennie Mackintosh
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Antoni Gaudi in Spain is probably one of the most controversial Art Nouveau designers. The keynotes of his architecture were fluid lines and extravagant exterior decoration much of it done by using a mixture of applied materials to the outside walls.

His best known building is the cathedral, Temple de la Sagrada Familia, Barcelona, Spain, which he started in 1882 and he worked on for over forty years until his death in 1926. Since then, other architects have taken over the project in an effort to finish it. This has been made more difficult because the original plans were destroyed by anarchists in the 1930s. Now, the estimated finishing date is in 2026 but many people will be surprised if it is completed by then.

Gaudi's use of applying materials to the walls gives it an organic appearance. In some places it looks like melted wax or some kind of primordial plant. The whole building is so unexpected and extraordinary that it is now one of Spain's most popular visitor attractions.

Picture: Temple de la Sagrada Familia, Barcelona, Spain

Picture Copyright © Wolfgang Staudt - Creative Commons License.