Kirsty Phillips Mia Dahl Sampa Subba Bukola Bankole Maryam Ali

ART NOUVEAU
1890-1910

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ART NOUVEAU

Introduction
Art Nouveau was a brief movement that swept through Europe, Russia and the US. It had many names: Le Style Jules Verne, Le Style Metro, in France. In Germany it was known as Jugendstil young style. In the US it inspired the Tiffany style, best known in the Tiffany lamps. Art Nouveau was inspired by wild nature, by biological discoveries of deep-sea creatures, and gothic revivals. It was a reaction to Industrialization, a conclusion of the Arts and Craft and Aesthetic movements and in Glasgow and Barcelona, it was also used to express independence of thought. There was also an element of Japanese art: Japonisme. Women were depicted as Femme Nouvelles, modern and emancipated, or demimonde like the girls from Moulin Rouge. The symbolic bird of the movement was peacock. References also included Indonesian Batik techniques, as well as Islamic and African Art. Art Nouveau in France, Belgium, Italy and Spain was curvilinear, characterized by the use of lines that were sinuous, giving the effect that was organic and fantastical, with whiplash curves. Art Nouveau in Germany, Britain and Austria was rectilinear, represented by rigid lines and a clean look that foreshadowed Modernism.

Development of Art Nouveau in Europe

The Late 19th century was a period of relative peace and prosperity in continental Europe. Economic growth meant that large upper and upper-middle classes were generated that could support new and experimental design. Many of the developments of Art nouveau seemed unrelated at the time and only now in retrospect can we see the link between the styles that emerged in France, Germany, Spain and Scandinavian countries.

BELGIUM

Architect Victor Horta produced an extensive body of work showing off the qualities that are typical of art nouveau design. Examples include his own house and adjacent ofce In Brussels, the designs included tiled walls and ceilings, built in cabinets with stained glass inserts. For the staircase, the slim column shows the acceptance of metal as a legitimate metal while the hanging light xtures show the possibilities of the then new electric light.

V I C TO R H O RTA H O U S E I N T E R I O R

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In France Art Nouveau developed in two main centre, Paris and the smaller city of Nancy. In the latter Eugene Vallin was the designer of interiors for a house, which included a dining room, built in woodwork of the cabinet, replace that are regarded as art nouveau style. The school of Nancy included other designers such as decorative craftsman Emile Galle.

SCHOOL OF NANCY INTERIOR

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In Germany a style emerged called Judenstil was formed in 1896 which is derived from the word youth, which was identical to the Art Nouveau directions practiced elsewhere in Europe. Atelier Elvira was a small two story building with overwhelmingly powerful decoration, windows were of a curious shape as if they were made from stems of vines.

ATELIER ELVIRA EXTERIOR & INTERIOR

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PENDANT, C A. 1901 R E N - J U L E S L A L I QU E ( F R E N C H )

WASHSTAND, 1904 CHARLES RENNIE MACKINTOSH S C OT T I S H D E S I G N E R

art & prints

Art Nouveau spread quickly throughout Europe thanks to photo illustrated art magazines, as well as exhibitions and advertisements.Here are some of the remarkable arts and prints from the Art Nouveau movement.

POSTERS BY FRANK BRANGWYN

This poster was made for Siegfried Bings exhibition LArt Nouveau which was held in Grafton Galleries in London 1899. Frank Brangwyn was a prominent british Art Nouveau designer, he provided a bridge between the simple elegance of Arts and Crafts movement and the more dynamic character of Art Nouveau.

POSTER, 1899 BY FRANK BRANGWYN

art & prints

PRINT BY AUBREY BEARDSLEY

His most well known work is this illustration for Oscar Wildes show Salome. His prints were in black and white ink and inuenced by Japanese art. You can recognise his style on the long curvy lines and strong sense of visual design, often erotic and considered shocking by many people.

THIS PRINT(1893) BY AUBREY BEARDSLEY, E N G L A N D.

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MAG AZIN E A DV E RT IS E ME N T BY H E N RY VA N DE VELDE

In this advertisement Van de Velde offers various materials for use in interiors design, including papers and paints, textiles, tiles and light xtures which was available from his shop in Brussels. The design of the advertisement with its owing curves, is evidence of of Van de Veldes commitment to Art Nouveau.

MAGAZINE ADVERTISEMENT FOR BELGIUM ART NO U V EAU A RT I S T H EN RY VAN DE V EL DE AN D H I S ATELIER, 1889.

Art Nouveau In Barcelona

Catalan Art Nouveau from (1878 -1910) Art Nouveau was known as Modernisme in Catalonia, Spain. Barcelona is one of the most outstanding cities in terms of European Art Nouveau capitals because it contains most of Antoni Gaud's work and that of other major Modernista architects. The era of Modernisme left the city with a unique cultural heritage. This is proven by the fact that no other city has as many buildings on the UNESCO World Heritage List as Barcelona. The list for Barcelona contains nine entries, and all of them are works from the Modernisme. Development of Modernisme in Barcelona The development of Modernisme in Barcelona has a political and economic background. The Modernisme was an expression of Catalonias strive for independence. This is a contrast to the art nouveau in other parts of Europe which was rather an expression of the Zeitgeist at the time. Modernisme in Barcelona goes beyond the work of a few specic architects, because its industrialists and promoters also enthusiastically embraced this new style, which transformed the formal language of architecture and took risks in the use of new technologies while recovering old handicraft skills. Modernisme was thus the architectural style that best dened the aims of a new entrepreneurial middle-class who was using this new style to search for a political identity that would differentiate it from ofcial artistic tastes and trends. Context of the Catalan Modernism: During the nineteenth century, Barcelona had a large and growing number of wealthy upper class people. In such an environment, the rich upper class used their interests and means to promote new styles. They patronized Catalan artists and, most of all, architects who invented their own style and thus became wealthy and popular. The construction of buildings in the new modernist style was not only a question of prestige but also an indicator of the Catalan patriotism of the patron.

Representatives of the Modernisme

L L U S D O M N E C H I M O N TA N E R
Llus Domnech i Montaner (1850-1923) was the founder of this movement. He often used Moorish elements in his constructions (Casa dels tres dragons, Hospital de Santa Creu i de Sant Pau).Llus Domnech i Montaner also used Art Nouveau in buildings such as the Casa Lle Morera (1905).

JOSEP PUIG I C ADAFALCH

The works of Josep Puig include Cadafalch (Casa Amatller, next to Gaud's Casa Battl, and the Casarramona which today houses the CaixaForum) can be recognized by their clear and simple lines. He was the modernist artist who could best adjust to the epoch of Noucentisme which broke with the playful forms of the Modernisme.

AN TO N I G AU D
Antoni Gaud, played a special role in the Modernisme due to his creativity and genious, preferred organic forms inspired by nature (Casa Mil, Casa Batll, Parc Gell). The vast extent and the extensive construction activities in the new city part were the ideal playground for the modernist architects to live their fantasies.

Peculiarities of the Modernisme

Today, there are still more than 2,000 buildings that can be attributed to the Modernisme or that contain modernist elements. The works of the Modernisme were viewed in the context of a nationalist attitude that stressed the independence of Catalonia. This is why the works contain countless hints and symbols of Catalan identity: Many historic forms and motives of Catalan folk art can be found in and on buildings of modernist patrons. Some examples are the usage of the Catalan coat of arms or the depiction of the Catalan patron Saint Jordi (George) and the legend of George which can be found in many works by Gaud. One important characteristic is the combination of forms and colors with materials and construction methods. The buildings of Domnech I Montaner contain many ceramic works on the faades. He worked a lot with forms made of steel and glass in combination with specically Moorish elements. Also, the traditional crafts were driven to perfection in the Modernisme, e.g. the brick construction or the decorative ironwork. The works of Gaud play a special role. He went beyond the boundaries of modernism. His works are dominated by organic forms. His techniques for the deduction of statically optimized structures were as revolutionary and ingenious as they were simple. He used ropes to connect pillars and then inversed the arch form resulting from the hanging rope to obtain an organic form for e.g. a portal arch.
ART NOUVEAU IN BARCELONA IS A WONDERFUL EXAMPLE OF THE COMBINATION OF ARTISAN TRADITION AND RICHNESS OF FORMS AND COLOUR THAT EXEMPLIFIES ART NOUVEAU.

B AR C E L O N A

London is famous for Big Ben; Paris for the Eiffel Tower; Rome for the Colosseum. Barcelona, on the other hand, is not identied by one or two famous buildings as these other European cities, but rather by an entire movement of turn-of-the-century architecture known simply as Modernisme. Familiar to others as art nouveau, its most famous practitioner was the artist and architect Antoni Gaudi, but the city is lled with superb examples of art nouveau in vivid color.

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Case Study

The most excellent representative of the Modernisme: Antonio Gaud

Antoni Gaud, architect and designer, managed to immortalize his technical solutions in the Catalan architecture by his audacity. He was able to synthesise the modernisme tradition with new and technical solutions. He understood how to include brilliant plastic decorations into his buildings.His decorative architectural style is so personal that he is sometimes considered as practising an artistic style different from Art Nouveau, nonetheless he uses Art Nouveau's oral and organic forms. Famous structures such as the Sagrada Familia characteristically contrast the modernising Art Nouveau tendencies with revivalist Neo-Gothic. However, his designs from about 1903, the Casa Batll (19041906) and Casa Mil (19061908), are most closely related to the stylistic elements of Art Nouveau. Antoni Gaud helped the Catalan architecture to worldwide fame and reputation.

C A SA M I L A

1906-1910
FEATURES:
1. STONE MOULDINGS 2. AQUATIC LOOK 3. BOTANICAL MOTIFS 4. PATTERNS OF LEAVES 5. VEGETABLE LIKE MOTIFS

Located down the road from Casa Batll is Casa Mil. The building was designed and built from scratch, from 1906 to 1910 and was Gaud nal commercial project. Gaud devoted a great deal of energy into planning the faade of the Art Nouveau building, which he made by moulding it in stone creating a curtain wall effect, giving the building a very aquatic look. Similar to other works by Gaud, the balconies in Casa Mil are designed with botanical motifs, characterized with undulating and sinuous leaves. Two large courtyards are pierced in the centre of the building, which the wavy inner walls are decorated with colourful frescoes of abstract botanical and vegetable-like motifs.

Casa Batll

1 9 0 4- 1 90 6
FEATURES:
1. ORGANIC SHAPES 2. WOODEN ELEMENTS LOOK LIKE ROOTS 3. DECORATIVE FEATURES GROWING FROM BOTTOM TO TOP LIKE VINES 4. ROOF RESSEMBLES DRAGON BACK 5. COLOURFUL SCALE-LIKE TILES

In 1904, Gaud was hired by by Josep Batll to redesign the originally mundane building Casa Batll, known locally as Casa del los ossos (House of Bones), which he completely transformed inside and out. Art Nouveau elements are expressed throughout, with detailed organic shapes even found in the banisters and wooden doors or the building, which look like the roots of trees or vines. The impressive roof also resembles a dragons back, which colourful scale-like tiles cover and continue down the complex faade.

Park Gell

1900-1914
FEATURES:
1. ORGANIC SHAPES 2. WROUGHT IRON ENTRANCE GATE 3. NATURE 4. ELEGANCE 5. COLOURFUL MOSAIC ORNAMENTS

Set up at the top of a rocky hill overlooking the city of Barcelona, Park Gell features excellent examples of Gauds Art Nouveau work. Upon arriving in the park are wrought-iron entrance gates designed in the shape of palmetto leaves, which beautifully show a balance of nature and elegance. Undulating and organic shapes go throughout the park, which can be seen in the serpentine bench, viaducts and walkways.

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Art Nouveau Legacy Around us...

The Patrons of this movement created a legacy by helping to develop the artists of Art Nouveau and the Arts and Crafts movement. Through the evident works of artists like Antonio Gaudi, Art Nouveau legacy lives on, They made a name for the modern style as well as for the buildings. It is therefore worthwhile to go on a pilgrimage to different sites around us, that have made the Art Nouveau movement familiar with the everyday people.

Visit to the V& A museum

Sampa & Bukky: blackfriars pub

Mia: Harrods food court

H AR RO DS F O O D H A L L

FEATURES:
1. WILD NATURE 2. JAPANESE AND GOTHIC INFLUENCES 3. ORGANIC & CURVY SHAPES 4. IRON WORKS 5. PEACOCK MOTIF

We went to Harrods food Hall to look at the Art Nouveau Interior. As it was early in the morning and almost no people, we could clearly see the Art Nouveau Style and the bigger picture, the impact of the room. We could clearly see the characteristics of Art Nouveau, with the inspiration from wild nature, Japanese and gothic inuences, organic and curvy shapes, even ironworks and the symbolic peacock that we talked about in the introduction. Something we found interesting was that in Britain a more rectilinear style was developed but Harrods food hall looks more inspired and similar to traditional Art Nouveau, such as the Belgium style and the example we saw earlier by Viktor Horta.

T HE BLA C K F RI A RS P U B

FEATURES:
1. MULTI-COLOURED MARBLE 2. MOSAICS, 3. BRONZE RELIEFS 4. ELABORATE FIRE-BASKET 5. STAINED GLASS WINDOWS 6. A BEAUTIFUL ARCHED MOSAIC CEILING

The old pub is a wonderful historic space with lots of marble and gold mosaic tiles. Initially, it came across as a medieval- gothic style because of the bright pane stained glass windows, what appeared to be sculptures of monks and intricate friezes. There are also relatively pronounced decorative writings in ceramic mosaic tiles and brass panes on the exterior that are very peculiar to art Nouveau font style. Overall it had an old fashioned ambience, did not have curved and organic surfaces as we expected but we suspect this is a feature similar to the description of art nouveau with neo- gothic inuences.

VICT O RI A A N D A L B E R T MU S EU M

Conclusion
Although it was truly an international phenomenon it was brief, brilliant one. An apt crescendo to Victorian love of decoration. It was a precursor to Modernism which emphasized function over form and minimal embellishment. It did not fade away forever however, as it inuenced Art Deco in the 1920s and 30s and posters in the style of Art Nouveau were popular in 60s.

Thank you.