The Art Nouveau Style was around for 20 years, from 1890 to 1910, and aimed to bring art into everyday life. It is known for its flowing asymmetrical lines and intricate patterns inspired by the natural world. Design themes were floral designs, nature motifs, and the female form.
In Architecture, this manifested in the fusion of art and structure. Building materials—steel, iron, glass, ceramic, brickwork, and concrete—were used to create free-form shapes that reflected organic shapes from nature, like columns and beams that looked like trees and vines.
Watch this short video of an explanation about the Art Nouveau Style. It also has examples of buildings created with this design philosophy.
La Belle Époque
Art Nouveau was the prominent design style during La Belle Époque (“The Beautiful Age”), or “The Beautiful Era.” It was the golden age of progress, regional peace, economic prosperity, technological, scientific, and cultural innovations, and optimism in Europe.
Art Nouveau came about as a reaction to the industrial style, which was all about functionality, utilitarianism, a predominance of iron, steel, and glass that were found in factories, clean lines, geometric shapes, and minimal ornamentation.
People wanted more. They wanted their buildings and interiors to have a more artistic expression, and hence, the rise of Art Nouveau.
The influence of this style was far-reaching. The arts flourished: literature, music, theatre, and visual art gained recognition. It was most widely used in interior design, graphic arts, furniture, glass art, textiles, ceramics, jewelry, and metal work.
Architects, designers, and artists who embraced this style were known also as artisans and craftsmen. They merged fine art and applied design to create highly ornamental work that showed sinuous lines, natural forms, and muted colors.
Art Nouveau Today
Art Nouveau continues to influence today’s design with its organic shapes. It was a movement that rejected the mass-produced aesthetic of the Industrial Revolution.
I would like to see more of it in our cityscapes, where the usual buildings are tall, blocky, and rectangular. Maybe this is just a pipe dream because building such structures would be so expensive and we may not have local artisans to do it. Look at The Sagrada Familia in Barcelona by Antoni Gaudi. Construction started in 1882 and until today, it is not yet completed. Although the builders intend to have it finished in 2026, which would mean 144 years in the making.
But don’t you think it would be wonderful to design your home with flowing lines and have arches, alcoves, and art surrounding you every day? I’d much prefer to see curves rather than sharp, angular elements. The IG photo above is beautiful and elegant, but I hope we get to see such living spaces in our lifetime, and not only one-dimensional AI images like this.
If the Art Nouveau style speaks to you, you can still bring in those flowing lines by buying furniture with curves, building arched doorways and windows like a Spanish casa, installing art that reminds you of a graceful and elegant period, and using colors from nature.
Art Nouveau commonly features soft, muted colors inspired by nature, including earthy greens, browns, golden yellows, and floral tones like lavender, lilac, and dusty pink, often combined with deep blues and vibrant teals. (Sampleboard.com)
I will leave you this to get you started on dreaming about Art Nouveau.
Explore other design styles in this link.
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