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 Diejugend (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.

- Organic, especially floral and other plant-inspired motifs
- Highly-stylized, flowing curvilinear forms
- Flat space inspired by Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock prints

Although Toulouse-Lautrec only produced about three dozen posters, his early application of the ukiyo-e influence propelled graphic design toward more reductive imagery that signified, rather than depicted, the subject. He often integrated lettering with his imagery by drawing it in the same casual technique as the pictorial elements.

Alphonse Mucha, a young Czech artist who worked in Paris, is widely regarded as the graphic designer who took Art Nouveau to its ultimate visual expression. Beginning in the 1890s, he created designs—usually featuring beautiful young women whose hair and clothing swirl in rhythmic patterns—that achieved an idealized perfection. He organized into tight compositions lavish decorative elements inspired by Byzantine and Islamic design, stylized lettering, and sinuous female forms. Like many other designers at the time, Mucha first captured public notice for poster designs, but he also received commissions for magazine covers, packages, book designs, publicity materials, and even postage stamps. In this way, the role and scope of graphic-design activity steadily expanded throughout the period.

By the 1890s, photoengraving processes (making printing plates from original artwork) had been perfected. These allowed much more accurate reproduction of original artwork than hand engraving, which was often only the engraver’s interpretation of the original. Bradley’s work, in which he integrated words and picture into a dynamic whole, was printed from plates using this new technology.

Notable Figures/Publications:
- Alfons Mucha
- The Yellow Book – issues available to download for free
- Toulouse-Lautrec
- Gustav Klimt
- Charles Rennie Mackintosh
- Rene Lalique
- Antoni Gaudi
- Louis Comfort Tiffany
- Hector Guimard
- Emile Galle
- Victor Horta
- Aubrey Beardsley