Home » Arts & Design » Fine Art » Art History

Art Nouveau Style

35 Comments
- Guestbook & Comments
- Great Zazzle Shops

53 Like

Like 53

Pin It

Ranked #2,956 in Arts & Design, #42,614 overall | Donates to Squidoo Charity Fund

Total Art

Art Nouveau, (French for "New Art,") is a colorful movement in the arts that swept Europe in the late 19th century.

It was a cultural movement as well, and encompassed decorative and applied arts, architecture, and painting and its origins are thought to be in a resistance to the cluttered artistic compositions of the Victorian era; a sentiment that also spurred the Arts and Crafts movement.

Read on for a brief introduction to this art form, and a sampling of Art Nouveau designs and artwork that you can purchase on all sorts of items, including note and business cards, magnets, and more!
New items added regularly, so come on back. :)

Vintage Nouveau Advertising on Zazzle
Bold Nouveau on Zazzle
Nouveau Style on Zazzle
Aubrey Beardsley
Art Nouveau Prints on Zazzle
Art Nouveau Stickers
Art Nouveau Tiles, Trivets, & Boxes
Art Nouveau Messenger & Tote Bags
Art Nouveau Ornaments

This movement originally spread thanks to the print media of the time in the form of posters, magazines, and book illustrations.

The lithograph "Tropon" by Henry van de Velde (1898) shows the distinct color choices of an Art Nouveau Print with brilliant ochre, dull green, and orange. This simple composition combines a new style of color choices with the curvy lines.

Advertising Influences

The style was also strongly influenced by Alphonse Mucha when he produced a poster in 1895 Paris, an ad for the play Gismonda. Apparently it did so much to popularize the style that the name "Style Mucha" was for a while, a synonym for Art Nouveau. Mucha created many designs for advertising purposes, including this Soap advertisment (next to Gismonda above).

Vintage Nouveau Advertising on Zazzle

Paris, offered by ArtNouveauDaz

Japanese Influence

The Art Nouveau period encompassed a broad variety of images within this new "Total Art".

Arthur Mackmurdo's book-cover for Wren's City Churches (1883), with its rhythmic floral patterns, is often considered the first realization of Art Nouveau, exhibiting the influential flat perspective and strong colors of Japanese wood block prints.

Bold Nouveau on Zazzle

Silhouettes, offered by AAP Shop

Architectural Style

In architecture, curvy lines , asymmetrical shapes and forms, surfaces with leaf and vine decorations, and other patterns characterize Art Nouveau buildings. Architect Hector Guimard produced works for the public enjoyment, designing the famous decorative entries to Paris Metro stations still visible today.

Interior Style

Perhaps the best known interior designer of this time was Louis Comfort Tiffany, who began creating his famous lamps, windows, and other glassware at the turn of the century.

Nouveau Style on Zazzle

Tiffany Irises card, offered by YesterdaysGirl

Form and Flow

The essence of Art Nouveau is described by sensuous lines and subtle light, feminine figures and curly hair, flowing dresses, vegetal curves and willow leaves, twisting waves and evanescent smoke, but also by controlled lines, geometric details, colorful new shapes and Art Nouveau was a new art form, an original artistic and decorative movement inspired by the idea of "total art". (http://www.senses-artnouveau.com/art_nouveau.php)

Aubrey Beardsley

A brief and brilliant career

A few examples of Beardsley illustrations.

My particular favorite artist of the Art Nouveau period, is Aubrey Vincent Beardsley (1872-1898), an English illustrator and author. Most of his drawings were done in black ink and emphasized the grotesque, the decadent, and the erotic but also the beauty and grace of the natural world. His illustrations in a limited edition of Thomas Malory's Morte D'Arthur make it one of the most beautiful books ever created.

Got a favorite artist from the Art Nouveau movement that you'd like to see featured here? Just leave me a note in the comments section below.

Art Nouveau Prints on Zazzle

Click on any image to view more or to purchase.

Art Nouveau Stickers

Click any image for more info or to purchase.

Art Nouveau Tiles, Trivets, & Boxes

Click on any image to view more info or to purchase.

Loving Art Nouveau?

This module only appears with actual data when viewed on a live lens. The favorite and lensroll options will appear on a live lens if the viewer is a member of Squidoo and logged in.

Add this to your lens »