Art Nouveau

Reporters: Louise Ruiz,

Shena Santos,
Diane Sta. Maria,
Tyra Tusing,
Kenneth Uy
Section: 4Bio7

A. Historical Background
• Art Nouveau is popular during the 1880s to 1910s
1. 1884
a. In Brussels, the term “art nouveau” was coined and was seen first in journal
L’Art Moderne which describes the artist group “Lex Vingt” seeking reform
2. 1895
a. Siegfried Bing opened an art gallery called La Maison de l'Art Nouveau
b. It features modern furniture, tapestries and objets d'art
c. La Maison de l'Art Nouveau popularized Art Nouveau wherein it spread
throughout Europe and US with different names:
i. In Germany, Jugendstil (Youth Style)
ii. In Austria, Sezessionsstil (Secession Style)
iii. in Spain, "arte joven" (young art)
iv. in Italy, "arte nuova" (new art)
v. in the Netherlands "Nieuwe kunst" (new art)
vi. In US, “Tiffany Style” named after Louis C. Tifanny
3. 1897
a. Victoria Horta showed his designs of Art Nouveau at World’s Fair in Brussels,
Belgium
4. 1900
a. Hector Guimard adapted “Art Nouveau” and designed a Parisian metro with iron
and glass subway entrances which opened on 1902
5. 1906
a. Antoni Gaudi designed the Casa Mila in Barcelona
6. 1914
a. Assasination of Archduke Ferdinand which triggered the start of World War I
B. Definition
Art Nouveau

a. Means “New Art”

b. It was an artistic movement which peaked in popularity between 1890 and 1905
c. Practiced in the fields of art, architecture and applied art.
d. Characterized by organic and plant motifs as well as other highly stylized forms
e. Whiplash: organic forms often took the form of sudden violent curves.
f. Art Nouveau relied upon twining, flowering forms to counter the unaesthetic look
of machine-made products.
C. Art Nouveau: Distinct Characteristics
1. General Characteristics
a. Most of the artists used curved lines (whiplash) in their works, especially in their
furniture.
b. Most artists used female as subject matter on a sensual position.
c. Works are inspired on nature and its elements.
d. Artists used exotic motifs from different culture.

2. Architecture
a. Buildings during this movement are asymmetrical.
b. Buildings have curved glass
c. They have mosaics
d. Use of stained glass.
e. There was an extensive use of arches and curved form
f. Used of curving, plant-like embellishments
3. Painting
a. Artist used decorative patterns (example: The Maiden by Gustav Klimt)
b. Most artists used natural forms.
c. They also did graphic arts (example: Henri de Toulousse-Lautrec)
d. Artists used woman as their subject matter (example: Alphonse Mucha)
4. Furniture
a. Furniture has long, sinuous lines. It is either flattened space and linear quality
of Japanese art or whiplash curve
b. Furniture was made of hardwood like walknut, oak, or teak.
c. Surfaces were decorated by a process called inlay.
D. Artists and their artworks

1. Aubrey Beardsley (21 August 1872 – 16 March 1898)

a. English author and illustrator
i. A Book of Fifty Drawings (1897), London
ii. Illustration for Edgar Alan Poe's The Murders in the Rue Morgue
b. A leading figure in the Aesthetic Movement
i. Together with Oscar Wilde and James Whilstler
ii. Major influence: Henri Tolousse Lautrec
1. Happened when he discovered Tolousse’s poster art in
Paris
c. Style is mostly influenced by Japanese woodcuts
i. Dominant medium is black ink
ii. Feature large dark areas contrasted with blank space
d. Main Theme: Decadence and Erotica
i. Decadence: moral or cultural decline as characterized by
excessive indulgence in pleasure or luxury.
ii. Erotica: sexually stimulating matter
iii. These made him one of the most controversial art nouveau artist
e. The Peacock Skirt (1894)
i. an illustration made for Oscar Wilde's 1892 play Salome, based on
the Biblical narrative centered on Salome's order to behead and
serve on a plater the head of John the Baptist.
ii. great emphasis on line, often abstracting their figures to produce
the fashionable sinuous curves so characteristic of the style
f. The Black Cat (1894)
i. Made of Edgar Allan Poe’s The Black Cat
ii. Thin lines delineate the elegant creature from darkness
surrounding it
iii. Accentuates the cat’s sharp claw and accusing eye
iv. Consists of large swaths of black and white areas
v. Black cat is symbolic of superstition in folk tales
vi. It could represent danger

2. Gustav Klimt (July 14, 1862 – February 6, 1918)

 a. Austrian symbolist painter
b. Member of the Vienna Art Nouveau
i. Austrian art movement which included painter, architects, and
sculptors with different styles.
c. His works are distinguished by gold or colored decoration
i. Inspired by Egyptian, Classical Greek, and Byzantine
d. Common Theme: Femme Fatale
i. “Dominant woman”= Femme Fatale
ii. Phallic shapes that conceals erotic positions of the drawings
1. Eg. Judith I, The Kiss, Danae
e. The Tree of Life (1905)
i. The tree of life is a symbol used in many theologies, philosophies,
and mythologies
ii. It is the connection between heaven and earth and underworld
iii. Klimt used oil painting techniques with gold paint, to create
luxurious art pieces, during that time.
iv. The swirling branches create mythical symbolism, suggesting the
perpetuity of life.
v. The branches twist, twirl, turn, spiral and undulate, creating a
tangle of strong branches, long vines and fragile threads, an
expression of life's complexity.
vi. Can be considered as a symbolism of man’s strength, wisdom,
and beauty
vii. The tree reaching for the sky can symbolize man’s yearning to be
successful with his roots still bound to the earth
f. Adele Bloch- Bauer I
i. Adele Bloch-Bauer was the wife of Ferdinan Bloch-Bauer, a banker
and sugar magnate
ii. Principally concerned with the dissolution of the real into pure
abstract form
iii. Use of gold and silver putting this work in Klimt’s “Golden Phase”
iv. It was retitled to “Lady in Gold”

3. Alphonse Mucha (24 July 1860 – 14 July 1939)

a. Czech Art Nouveau painter (Le Style Mucha)and graphic artist
 i. Initially, Le Style Mucha
ii. He believes that his art is forever thus, not liking the term Art
Nouveau
b. Famous for his commercial posters
i. Aimed to remove the line between art and commerce
ii. He designed labels for champagne, biscuits, perfume, and theater
sets.
c. Elegant curveuliear and Byzantine surface
d. Common Theme: Women
i. Femme Nouvelle= new woman
ii. Femininity as the antidote to an overly-industrialized, impersonal,
"masculine" world.
e. The Seasons (1896)
i. It shows the harmonious cycles of nature
ii. 4 seasonal beauties with distinct backdrops imparts the mood for
each season
iii. Winter is in a snowy landscape cuddling under a cloak
iv. Spring stands with white blossoms
v. Summer lounges among the red poppies
vi. Autumn rests with the flowers while gathering fruit
4. Henri Tolousse Lautrec (24 November 1864 – 9 September 1901)
a. French painter, printmaker, and caricaturist
b. Style is highly linear and focuses on contour (“drawings in colored paint”)
i. Applied paint in long thin brushstrokes.
ii. Influenced by Japanese woodprints which became popular in art
circles in Paris
iii. Influenced by Impressionist: Edgar Degas
c. Theme: crowd scenes (individualized per figure)
i. Individual figures in his larger paintings are described as silhouettes
alone.
ii. Crowds in workplaces/ working environments, and Parisian
nightlife.
d. La Goulue at the Moulin Rouge (1891)
i. Shows the flourish and messiness of a can-can dancer’s dress
 ii. La Goulue is the stage name of Louise Weber who is shown as the
dancer
iii. The dress breaks down into few simple rhythmic lines which suggest
movement and space
iv. The repetitive red lettering of the cabaret’s name could signify the
pulsating energy the performances of the dancers

e. Ambassadeurs Aristide Bruant (1892)

i. Singer, comedian, and entrepreneur, Aristide Bruant, asked
Lautrec to paint a portrait of him
ii. He used this painting to advertise himself for his performance at
the club Les Ambassadeurs
iii. It became an iconic image which promoted both the careers of
the performer and the artist
iv. Bruant’s trademark of hat, cape, and red scarf was shown
v. This was posted all over the cabaret and Paris which drew a good
amount of attention to Bruant and Lautrec