Art Nouveau

An international style of decoration and architecture which developed in the 1880s and 1890s. The name derives from the Maison de l'Art Nouveau, an interior design gallery opened in Paris in 1896, but in fact the movement had different names throughout Europe. In Germany it was known as 'Jugendstil', from the magazine Die Jugend (Youth) published from 1896; in Italy 'Stile Liberty' (after the London store, Liberty Style) or 'Floreale'; in Spain 'Modernista', in Austria 'Sezessionstil' and, paradoxically, in France the English term 'Modern Style' was often used, emphasizing the English origins of the movement.

Alphonse Mucha: Le Soir / Evening

Alphonse Mucha

Alphonse Mucha: Le Jour / Daytime

The most famous Czech artist of the Art Nouveau era is definitely Alphonse Mucha (July 24, 1860 - July 14, 1939), who is probably best known through his posters for Sarah Bernhardt's theater in Paris. However, Mucha didn't paint only posters. In addition to posters, he created many book illustrations, ornamental panels, advertisements, jewelry, decorative little statues, architectural designs, and a way to make manufactured goods more interesting, e.g. reproductions of his paintings and drawings appeared on biscuit boxes, postage stamps, and banknotes.

A rt Nouveau is one of the modern attractions of Prague, today called Czech Republic. Tourists are drawn to its Art Nouveau architecture, stained glass, and paintings. This fanciful, flowery style dates from the beginning of the 1900's. Nouveau artist Alphonse Mucha lived and worked in Prague.

Alphonse Mucha Biography

Alphonse Mucha

Alfons Maria Mucha was born in Moravia. His singing abilities allowed him to continue his education through high school in the Moravian capital of Brno, even though drawing had been his first love since childhood. He worked at decorative painting jobs in Moravia, mostly painting theatrical scenery, then in 1879 moved to Vienna to work for a leading Viennese theatrical design company, while informally furthering his artistic education. When a fire destroyed his employer's business in 1881 he returned to Moravia, doing freelance decorative and portrait painting. Count Karl Khuen of Mikulov hired Mucha to decorate Hru%u0161ovany Emmahof Castle with murals, and was impressed enough that he agreed to sponsor Mucha's formal training at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts.

Mucha moved to Paris in 1887, and continued his studies at Académie Julian and Academie Colarossi while also producing magazine and advertising illustrations. In 1894, he produced the artwork for a lithographed poster advertising Sarah Bernhardt at the Theatre de la Renaissance. Mucha's lush stylized poster art won him fame and numerous commissions.

Alphonse Mucha: Summer

Alphonse Mucha's Legacy

Alphonse Mucha: Autumn

By the time of his death, Mucha's style was considered outdated and old-fashioned. However, his son, author Jiri Mucha, devoted much of his life to writing about him and bringing attention to his art. Interest in Mucha's distinctive style experienced a strong revival in the 1960s.

Alphonse Mucha: Winter

Alphonse Mucha: Printemps / Spring Time

mucha on YouTube

Alfons Mucha

The glorious work of the Czech art nouveau painter, printmaker & decorative designer Alfons Mucha and Rachmaninov

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Emile Galle

Émile Gallé (Nancy, 8 May 1846 - Nancy, September 23, 1904) was a French artist who worked in glass, and is considered to be one of the major forces in the French Art Nouveau movement.

Thsi pictures shows Emile Galle's glass piece marquetry created in 1898.

Gallé was the son of a faience and furniture manufacturer and studied philosophy, botany, and drawing in his youth. He later learned glassmaking at Meisenthal and came to work at his father's factory in Nancy following the Franco-Prussian War. His early work was executed using clear glass decorated with enamel, but he soon turned to an original style featuring heavy, opaque glass carved or etched with plant motifs. His career took off after his work received praise at the Paris Exhibition of 1878.

Within a decade of another successful showing at the Paris Exhibition of 1889, Gallé had reached international fame and his style, with its emphasis on naturalism and floral motifs, was at the forefront of the emerging Art Nouveau movement.

Another Art Nouveau Master: Rene Lalique

Lalique Glass and Jewelry: Art Nouveau at its Best

Nowhere was the style of Art Nouveau more pronounced than in France, and no name more recognisable than that of René Lalique. Trained as a jeweler, René Lalique opened his atelier in Paris in 1895. His avant-garde designs were sought after by tout de Paris, and his most famous client was Sarah Bernhardt, the diminutive tragic actress who exemplified the Art Nouveau woman. Heralded as the finest and most innovative jewelry designer at the 1900 Exposition Universelle in Paris, Lalique never stopped experimenting and learning. In 1907, he began to work in an entirely different art form--designing glass perfume bottles--at the request of his good friend François Coty. In 1912, at the age of 50, Lalique opened his first glass factory and began to produce perfume vials, tableware, vases, lamps and all types of objects for a lady's boudoir.

Art Nouveau Architecture on YouTube

This video testifies to the wide spread popularity of Art Nouveau (Jugendstil) as expressed in architectural masterpieces of Riga, Latvia.

Jugendstil in Riga / Art Nouveau in Riga

Ein Spaziergang durch das Jugendstilviertel von Riga / Lettland. Walking through the Art Nouveau quarter of Riga / Latvia

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Art Nouveau Architect Antonio Gaudi

Antonio Gaudi
1852-1926
Spanich architect

At the age of 16 Gaudi left his hometown Reus to join the school of architecture of Barcelona. At that time Barcelona was a fast-growing city because of the start of its industry. It was the main city of Catalunya where at the time Gaudi arrived there was a large anarchist independence movement.

Like the followers of this movement Gaudi loved Catalunya above everything else. For that reason the major influences on his work were mauresque, oriental and gothic architecture, all of them traditional Catalonian styles. Although he did not travel around Europe he was aquantanced with French avantgarde movements because of the tight relationships between Barcelona and France. New foreign movements like the preraphaelites, arts and crafts, gothic revival, impressionism and Art Nouveau were also discussed in the intellectual modernist society. Gaudi met his friends regularly at the "cercle St. Luke" and "Ateneu Club". He was particularly befriended with count Guëll, who travelled a lot in Europe. Guell made Gaudi read Viollet-le-Duc's book "Entretients sur l'architecture" which influenced him quite a lot. Art Nouveau is the movement that influenced Gaudi the most, stimulating him to experiment with new materials and new shapes, thereby helping him to give up imitating historical styles and find his own way. On this picture his Casa Battlo is depicted.

Art Nouveau Architect Hector Guimard

867-1942)

French architect

Guimard introduced Art Nouveau in Paris. He brought it from Bruxelles in 1894 when he visited Horta. It has upset all the work he was doing on Castel Beranger. Guimard will stay the leader of Art Nouveau in Paris. His works were destroyed very early, and today only a few of them remain standing.