Art Nouveau

Art Nouveau is a style that developed at the end of the 19th century and ended around World War I with the rise in popularity of Art Deco. Opulent, curvilinear forms (leaves and flowers) characterized the movement and emphasized decoration. Art Nouveau was in many ways a response to the Industrial Revolution. Some artists welcomed technological progress and embraced the aesthetic possibilities of new materials such as cast iron. Others deplored the shoddiness of mass-produced machine-made goods and aimed to elevate the decorative arts to the level of fine art by applying the hightest standards of craftsmanship and design to everyday objects. Art Nouveau designers also believed that all the arts should work in harmony to create a "total work of art," or Gesamtkunstwerk: buildings, furniture, textiles, clothes, and jewelry all conformed to the priciples of Art Nouveau. Important artists of the period include Alphonse Mucha's Les Saisons 1900 and Gustav Klimt's The Kiss.

The Three Ages of Woman (detail)    Winter    Pietre Dure Decorative Urn    Die Hoffnung II    Die Erfullung    Portrait of Maeda Primavesi    Trance    Sarah Bernhardt    Death and Life    Hygieia    Radiance (silver foil stamped)    Les Saisons, 1900    Redcurrant Tea    Absinthe Robette    Kiss of Fire    Fall    The Gold Cavalier    Rough Water    Salon Des Cent    Judith I    Atmospheric    Evening Star    The Kiss (detail)    Elegance    Byzantine    Girlfriends (Le Amiche)    Die Erfullung - Detail    Hope II    Parfum Vernafleur    Plate 36 from Documents Decoratifs, 1902    Le Matin    Monaco-Monte Carlo    Grey Iris    Sea Serpents IV    Emerald Vase    Plate 40 from Documents Decoratifs, 1902    White Lady    Morning Star    Gismonda    Sea Serpents I    Young Ladies    Firebird    Plate 39 from Documents Decoratifs, 1902    Le Soir    Lady W/Fan (Donna con ventaglio)    Der Kuss    Time For Reflection    Die Musik    Beethoven Frieze, 1902    The Wassil    A Southern Port    Vine Leaf Decoration    Les Saisons, 1897    Schloss Kammer Am Attersee    Directoire    Music    La Nuit    Three Ages of Woman    Flirt    Spring    Meuse Beer    Seated Nude Woman, Study    Amants    Fragrance    Tke Kiss - Detail    Emerald Night    The Embrace, Drawing    Mural Decoration for Miss Cranston’s Buchanan Street Tearooms, 1896    Polar Star    The Village of La Llagonne    Plate 33 from Documents Decoratifs, 1902    Sea Serpents II    Danae    Gala    West End Review    Parfum Levant    Medee    Port Vendres, La Ville    Poesie    The May Queen    A New Chapter    Portrait De Emile Floge    Parfum Violettes    The Virgin    Sea Serpents III    Parfum Vivantes    Starstruck (gold foil stamped)    Schloss Unterach on the Attersea    Women Friends    The Kiss, Drawing    Pinks    Fringe Cape    Fregio Stoclet    Chocolat Ideal    Spirit of Spring    Waverley Cycles    Light Breezes    Baby 1917-18    Goldfish, 1901-02    Water Serpents I, 1904-07    The Kiss, 1907-08    Fulfillment, 1905-09    Stoclet Frieze Expectation, 1905-09    Hygeia Detail from Medicine, 1900-07    Danae, 1907    Maiden (Virgin), 1913    Tree of Life, 1905-09    Water Serpents II, 1904-1907    Biscuits Champagne-Lefevre-Utile    Moet and Chandon Cremant Imperial    Allegory Of Sculpture    Biscuits Lefevre-Utile    Flower    Beethoven Frieze , Hostile Forces Detail The Gnawing Sorrow