Looking for something new! Art Nouveau

It was a time of calmness and economic growth in Europe which led to the great development of the Art Nouveau styles from 1890-1910. Headed by France and Belgium, traditional designs were thrown out. The admiration for Japanese styles stayed, and painters such as Van Gogh and Edvard Munch were looked at for inspiration.

Design Characteristics

Rejecting the traditional and academic styles that were popular, new designs incorporating natural forms and curved lines became quite the trend. Art Nouveau is not solely a style of architecture. It encapsulates all types of art and design ranging from graphic art, jewelry, interior design, furniture, and other household goods. 

Art Nouveau is one of the first artistic movements in which graphics were mass-produced rather than printed traditionally one by one. One example is when a paris based artist, Alphonse Mucha, used lithography to mass produce posters for the streets of Paris. 

 

The architecture of this time made great use of emerging technologies such as the innovation of exposed iron and bent glass. 

Modern-Day Applications