| Esraa Abou-Elkawam

Critical Analysis of Art Nouveau

This essay will critically analyse the work of Art Nouveau and the historical background behind the movement. As well as the different views that were argued about the movement. It will also cover the different artists within the movement and the work that they have produced. The essay will explore the different designers within architecture and the work that they have produced and how one artist inspired others to create work that became revolutionary. This essay will also analyse other work within Art Nouveau such as the furniture and the luxurious jewellery that was created by well-known designers. There will also be further information about the different architectures that still exist today within different countries. This essay will also further explore how Art Nouveau is still used today by many artists and how many buildings, furniture and jewellery made today is inspired by the work of Art Nouveau.

Art Nouveau thrived from the early 1880s to the start of World War I. It expresses the graceful style that is also seen within the British Arts and Crafts movement, which was also a response against the “cluttered designs and compositions of Victorian-era decorative art” (Wolf, 2018). Art Nouveau started at a time where there was great change happening, such as the Industrial Revolution and the machine age which had a massive impact on the movement as it started to grow. It was an inspirational time for many artists and designers who formed Art Nouveau as they saw it as a new beginning for an era of change. The work of Art Nouveau was distinguished by “ornamental, sinuous lines” (Sternau, 1996. p.5) that is used within their work. The work was known to be very original and inspired by the “natural forms of flora and fauna” (Sternau, 1996. p.5). The distinctive work and sufficient craftsmanship of artists were the core of the movement style.

Art Nouveau’s style combined fine arts, the applied arts, architecture, and decoration of all types. There was a range of artists that were included within the movement which included the following, Antonio Gaudí, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Victor Horta, Hector Guimard and many more (Sternau, 1996). Art Nouveau was a very broad movement which caused complication as critics would argue that Art Nouveau did not exist in architecture. Furthermore, others argued that there were no paintings by the Art Nouveau, this is because they claimed that the painters of that era were not just part of the Art Nouveau but were also part of other movements or styles. Many artists honoured the movement for its “clarity of vision” (Sternau, 1996, p.5), while others critiqued the movement for being “tasteless” (Sternau, 1996, p.5) and for inventing interiors as well as furniture that was challenging to live with.

However, many people gave credit to Art Nouveau as it was the start of the modern style within architecture as the movement played a very important role in architecture. It had a massive influence on European culture and in urban hubs such as Paris, Vienna, Barcelona and many more (Wolf, 2018). Art Nouveau architecture succeeded on different levels, both in size as well as appearance and it is noticeable today in the structures of houses and commercial buildings. Many of the buildings had extraordinary use of tilework which was very colourful and noticeable, along with the use of terracotta. An artist that was very well known for his use of terracotta ornament is Alexandre Bigot. Bigot created it for apartment buildings as well as for fireplaces of Parisian residences. There were also further Art

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Nouveau structures that were particularly in France and Belgium, which were by Hector Guimard and Victor Horta. The artists buildings had iron structures that were joined by glass panels, which portrays the technological possibilities that were part of Art Nouveau.

Hector Guimard was a well-known French architect that was part of Art Nouveau. The architecture that he created combined different types of art such as paintings as well as sculptures and typography. Guimard’s buildings contain “seamless harmony” (Clericuzio, 2018) which is evident throughout all of this work. Additionally, his work reflects the idea of how he hopes the world would, politically, become a “harmonious environment” (Clericuzio, 2018) which he presents within the buildings and the other work that he has created for Art Nouveau. The architecture that Guimard creates is always very detailed and meaningful especially being linked to the period that it is being created within which is why he stated the following quote, "A style of architecture, in order to be true, must be the product of the soil it exists and of the period which needs it." (Clericuzio, 2018)

Today Guimard’s style of work is viewed to be very distinctive especially compared to the other artists of his era. Famous landmarks that were created by Hector Guimard that are still there and are considered famous tourist attraction are the Paris subway entrances. There were around three different entrance designs that he created for the subways in Paris. The three different types of entrances were “enclosed, tripod canopies, and open to the sky” (Clericuzio, 2018). Figure 1 shows one of the designs that he created which had street lights that were surrounding the entrance which resembled “large exotic plants or flowers” (Sternau, 1996. p.19). The red bulbs brightened many of the entrances at night, were also used when trains arrived in order to alert people on the street. The structure was enriched by the green paint as well as the iron and glass which were the technological possibilities that were part of Art Nouveau. The typography that was also used on the entrance was also created by Guimard which is now widely known as the typeface Métropolitain.

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Figure 1: Hector Guimard’s entrance for the Paris

Métropolitain (1899-1900)

Figure 1: Hector Guimard’s entrance for the Paris

Métropolitain (1899-1900)

Figure 1: Hector Guimard’s entrance for the Paris

Métropolitain (1899-1900)

Figure 1: Hector Guimard’s entrance for the Paris

Métropolitain (1899-1900)

Figure 1: Hector Guimard’s entrance for the Paris

Métropolitain (1899-1900)

Figure 1: Hector Guimard’s entrance for the Paris

Métropolitain (1899-1900)

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Furthermore, another architect that was very well known for his work within Art Nouveau was Victor Horta. Horta created the Tassel House which is known as Hotel Tassel in Brussels. Horta designed the whole interior design as well as the furniture that was within the Tassel house. This meant that Horta was given the chance to experiment with the different possibilities of curving lines both within furniture as well as fixtures, which was also well known as the “whiplash” (Wolf, 2018) curves, which is presented within figure 2. Victor Horta stated the following quote which explains the inspiration behind the curved lines that is recognisable throughout the Hotel, “I discard the flower and leaf, but keep the stalk” (Wolf, 2018). The light fixture designs that he created within the Tassel House were inspired by “organic plant forms” (Sternau, 1996. p.26) which were also used on the floor decorations as well as the cabinets and chairs. Guimard was also inspired by the light fixture that Horta used which led him to create the street lights that were surrounding the entrance of the Paris Métro. The spirals on the floor and walls enhanced the upwards movement of the “spiralling staircase” (Sembach, 1994. p.48). The idea was that Horta wanted to bring the natural world from the outside and for it to be permanently brought inside, by using the shades of green, orange and yellow.

Antoni Gaudí was another architect that was very well known for the many architecture buildings that he created in Barcelona. Gaudí was inspired by creatures when creating the buildings in Barcelona as he would create a style on the roofline which would look like the back of dragons along. This is what made his style of work very unique in the history of architecture and within Art Nouveau. Gaudí’s Entrance Pavilion of the Park Guëll (1900-14) incorporated “stone, coloured mosaics, and ironwork” (Sternau, 1996. p.111) which was used to create a remarkable effect. Gaudí also designed the furniture that was used within some of the buildings, as he was highly specialised in textures, colours and “unconventional, undulating, organic forms” (Sternau, 1996. p.111). The roof of apartment buildings such as the Casa Batlló (1905-07) was one of the architectures that had a roof that resembled the back of a dragon as shown in figure 3. The image shows how he used the idea of the scales of the dragon on the roof of the building as well as adding some texture and colour to make it look much more realistic and noticeable, which he created using tile and stone.

Art Nouveau was also linked with interior decorations such as the furniture which ranged from beds, chaises, dining room tables and chairs to lampstands. The carved wood contained “sharp, irregular contours” (Wolf, 2018) that were frequently made by hand, whereas some were also made using machines. The “sinuous curves” (Wolf, 2018) that were on the designs were inspired by the natural grain of woods. Louis

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Figure 2: Victor Horta’s entrance for the Tassel

House (1895)

Figure 3: Antoni Gaudí’s Casa Batlló in Barcelona (1905-07)

Figure 2: Victor Horta’s entrance for the Tassel

House (1895)

Figure 2: Victor Horta’s entrance for the Tassel

House (1895)

Figure 2: Victor Horta’s entrance for the Tassel

House (1895)

Figure 2: Victor Horta’s entrance for the Tassel

House (1895)

Figure 2: Victor Horta’s entrance for the Tassel

House (1895)

Figure 3: Antoni Gaudí’s Casa Batlló in Barcelona (1905-07)Figure 3: Antoni Gaudí’s Casa Batlló in Barcelona (1905-07)Figure 3: Antoni Gaudí’s Casa Batlló in Barcelona (1905-07)Figure 3: Antoni Gaudí’s Casa Batlló in Barcelona (1905-07)Figure 3: Antoni Gaudí’s Casa Batlló in Barcelona (1905-07)

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Comfort Tiffany created the Wisteria Lamp shown in figure 4. The shades on the lamps either resembled fruit, flowers or insect life. While the base of the lamp was made out of bronze and resembled leaves, stems or tree roots. The chief of Art Nouveau included Louis Majorelle who manufactured his own wooden furniture. This led him to open his own ironworking foundry, which constructed the metal fixtures for the Daum Brothers’ glassworks.

Art Nouveau was also associated with creating jewellery. The designers René Lalique (1860 – 1945), Louis Comfort Tiffany and Marcel Wolfers created some remarkable pieces that were very well known during the century. This ranged from earrings, necklaces to bracelets and brooches as shown in figure 5, which caused Art Nouveau to be linked with “fin-de-siècle luxury” (Wolf, 2018). René Lalique was the French jewellery designer of Art Nouveau. He used gold and silver which he worked into “fanciful, linear, asymmetrical forms” (Sternau, 1996. p.65) which looked like plants, flowers, insects, and sea creatures. The work that he created helped to change the fundamental taste of heavy diamond- based jewellery and instead inspired by Japanese style which contain “opals, baroque pearls, and other colourful semi-precious stones” (Sternau, 1996. p.65) which create an elegant style of jewellery that was very well known alongside others within Art Nouveau.

Currently, in the 21st century, the style of Art Nouveau is still being used by many contemporary artists and designers. For example, a designer that was inspired by the work of Art Nouveau is Stephanie Young. She creates vases that are inspired by the style and she does this by handcrafting porcelain. She adds a variety of texture and colour within her vases which are usually red, green, orange as well as others that were used by many artists in Art Nouveau such as Antoni Gaudí. Her work has been a huge success due to the amount of detail that goes into her work. Another artist is Oleg Karlson who designed the Mosco estate in Russia. He worked on the estate from 2003 till 2009. He incorporated the style that was used by the designer Victor Horta in the Tassel House. He included many features like the interior design such as the floor and wall decorations. Karlson also designed the furniture such as dining tables, chairs and many more, which is shown in figure 7.

There are further architects today that are inspired by Art Nouveau as seen within buildings that contain raised leaf or vine decoration, or even a spiral staircase as well as vibrant stained-glass windows that are seen within many cafes and brasseries today. The styles are taken from Art Nouveau and modified in order for it to contain and a

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Figure 5: René Lalique’s singing bird brooch (1889)

Figure 5: René Lalique’s singing bird brooch (1889)

Figure 5: René Lalique’s singing bird brooch (1889)

Figure 5: René Lalique’s singing bird brooch (1889)

Figure 5: René Lalique’s singing bird brooch (1889)

Figure 5: René Lalique’s singing bird brooch (1889)

Figure 6: Stephanie Young’s handmade porcelain vases (n.d.)

Figure 7: Oley Karlson’s Moscow Estate (2003-2009)

Figure 6: Stephanie Young’s handmade porcelain vases (n.d.)

Figure 6: Stephanie Young’s handmade porcelain vases (n.d.)

Figure 6: Stephanie Young’s handmade porcelain vases (n.d.)

Figure 6: Stephanie Young’s handmade porcelain vases (n.d.)

Figure 6: Stephanie Young’s handmade porcelain vases (n.d.)

Figure 7: Oley Karlson’s Moscow Estate (2003-2009)

Figure 7: Oley Karlson’s Moscow Estate (2003-2009)

Figure 7: Oley Karlson’s Moscow Estate (2003-2009)

Figure 7: Oley Karlson’s Moscow Estate (2003-2009)

Figure 7: Oley Karlson’s Moscow Estate (2003-2009)

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modern form and then used within many different places such as cafes. Furthermore, many of the architectural buildings that were built as part of Art Nouveau still exist such as all of the buildings designed by Antoni Gaudí in Barcelona, such as Casa Batlló, the Entrance Pavilion of the Park Guëll, Casa Milà and many more.

To conclude, Art Nouveau was a well-known artistic movement that emerged during the 1890s. The designer Victor Horta incorporated patterns within his work that made the movement become very original and revolutionary. For example, the work that he created within the Tassel House was very imaginative and was never made previously. This includes all of the work he did on the floor as well as wall decorations where he just used curved lines to create the style shown in figure 2. Likewise, Antoni Gaudí and Hector Guimard also created architectures that were very ground-breaking, as they were inspired by the use of curved lines and other elements that Horta used. Antoni Gaudí created many buildings that are still standing in Barcelona. One included the Casa Batlló which was very well known for how he created the roof to look like the back of a dragon, which he made realistic by adding texture and colour to replicate the scales on a dragon. Hector Guimard created three different styles for the entrances of Paris subways which were all inspired by flowers and use of glass and colour. There was further work that was created within Art Nouveau such as furniture and jewellery which were also very imaginative in the way the designs were made. An example of jewellery that was creates was by René Lalique where she created delicate and luxury jewels as shown in figure 5.

Overall, Art Nouveau was very successful in many ways due to the revolutionary designs that were created. On the other hand, people argued that the work of Art Nouveau was only targeted at people that were in the upper class because, for example, the furniture that was created was very luxury which made it expensive for people from the middle class to purchase. In spite of everything, it is believed that Art Nouveau is a very large source of inspiration for many designers and artists till this day as the organic and aesthetic elements within the designs will continue to be revolutionary for a lifetime.

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Reference List

Clericuzio, P. (2018). Hector Guimard Overview and Analysis. Retrieved from The Art Story website: https://www.theartstory.org/artist-guimard-hector.htm [Accessed 5 Dec. 2018]

Clericuzio, P. (2018). Hector Guimard Overview and Analysis. Retrieved from The Art Story website: https://www.theartstory.org/artist-guimard-hector-artworks.htm#pnt_4 [Accessed 5 Dec. 2018]

Clericuzio, P. (2018). Victor Horta Overview and Analysis. Retrieved from The Art Story website: https://www.theartstory.org/artist-horta-victor.htm [Accessed 5 Dec. 2018]

Clericuzio, P. (2018). Antoni Gaudí Artist Overview and Analysis. Retrieved from The Art Story website: https://www.theartstory.org/artist-gaudi-antoni.htm [Accessed 5 Dec. 2018]

Clericuzio, P. (2018). Antoni Gaudí Most Important Art. Retrieved from The Art Story website: https://www.theartstory.org/artist-gaudi-antoni-artworks.htm [Accessed 5 Dec. 2018]

Guimard, H. (1899-1900). Entrance for the Paris Métropolitain [Photograph]. Retrieved from http://parisadele.com/portfolio/porte-dauphine-metro/

Gaudí, A. (1905-07). Casa Batlló in Barcelona [Photograph]. Retrieved from https://citywonders.com/barcelona-tours/gaudi-houses-tour

Horta, V. (1895). Entrance for the Tassel House [Photograph]. Retrieved from https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/ARZcB2P8l6wxp_JkU9Ov5fagwOhAuttHSLqzRvg4fegloU0YBO38KxU/

Karlson, O. (2003-2009). Moscow Estate [Photograph]. Retrieved from https://archi.ru/en/28239/kachestvo-istorizma

Lalique’s, R. (1889). Singing bird brooch [Photograph]. Retrieved from https://nasvete.com/rene-lalique-art-nouveau-jewellery/

Noble Life. (n.d.). Art Nouveau: Stepping Stone to Modern Design. Retrieved from Noble Life website: https://noble.life/home-inspiration/art-nouveau-stepping-stone-to-modern-design [Accessed 5 Dec. 2018]

Sternau, S. A. (1996). Art Nouveau: Spirit of The Belle Epoque. New York: Todtri Productions Limited

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Sembach, K.J . (1994). Art Nouveau. Germany: Taschen

Tiffany, L. C. (1892-93). Wisteria Lamp [Photograph]. Retrieved from https://www.pinterest.es/pin/486529565969351276/?lp=true

Wolf, J. (2018). Art Nouveau Movement: Artists and Major Works. Retrieved from The Art Story website: https://www.theartstory.org/movement-art-nouveau-history-and-

concepts.htm [Accessed 5 Dec. 2018]

Young, S. (n.d.). Handmade porcelain vases [Photograph]. Retrieved from https://aboutartnouveau.wordpress.com/2015/11/20/art-nouveau-is-back/

Figure Reference

Figure 1: Hector Guimard. (1899-1900). Entrance for the Paris Métropolitain [Photograph]

Figure 2: Victor Horta. (1895). Entrance for the Tassel House [Photograph]

Figure 3: Antonio Gaudí. (1905-07). Casa Batlló in Barcelona [Photograph] Figure 4: Louis Comfort Tiffany. (1892-93). Wisteria Lamp [Photograph]

Figure 5: René Lalique’s. (1889). Singing bird brooch [Photograph]

Figure 6: Stephanie Young. (n.d.). Handmade porcelain vases [Photograph]

Figure 7: Oley Karlson. (2003-2009). Moscow Estate [Photograph]

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