An Organic Evolution<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2018At the beginning of the 20th century there was a cultural moment when people began to search for some kind of new expression,\u2019 says Dr Robyne Calvert, Mackintosh Research Fellow at The Glasgow School of Art. \u2018Although art nouveau was referred to in French and Belgian artistic journals from the late 1870s, the term was not\u00a0popularised until 1895, when German art dealer Siegfried Bing opened his gallery Maison de l\u2019Art Nouveau in Paris.\u2019 The art nouveau movement gathered pace following the groundbreaking exhibition Exposition Universelle, Paris, in 1900, which featured paintings, sculptures, ceramics and architecture in this modern, exciting style. The exhibition was a crowning moment for master jeweller Ren\u00e9 Lalique, who dazzled the crowds with his intricate, beautifully wrought pieces,\u00a0displayed on a stand resplendent with curving, bronze figures. \u2018Art nouveau didn\u2019t just come out of nowhere,\u2019 explains Robyne. \u2018In Britain, artists, architects and designers were looking to preceding movements, such as Pre-Raphaelitism and Aestheticism. Using organic forms as a basis for design emerged out of the Arts and Crafts movement, taking inspiration from the likes of John Ruskin and William Morris.\u2019 A Victorian sourcebook called The Grammar of Ornament: A Visual Reference of Form and Colour in Architecture and the Decorative Arts (published in 1856 by Owen Jones) was still making\u00a0waves on the design scene at this time, too. \u2018It was a pattern guide to ornamentation from all over the world, looking at natural themes from Middle Eastern countries, Japan, China and Morocco,\u2019 reveals Robyne. \u2018In the run-up to the art nouveau era, many designers responded to that.\u2019<\/p>\n The Universal Appeal of Nature<\/strong><\/p>\n While interpretations of art nouveau did differ slightly from designer to designer and country to country, the basic philosophy was the same for all: nature was the source of inspiration. As a result, the art nouveau \u2018look\u2019 typically featured sinuous lines, flowing organic shapes based on botanical forms, natural colours such as peacock-blue, earth-brown or sage-green, decorative fora and fauna \u2013 such as water lilies, dragonflies and birds \u2013 and ornate \u2018whiplash\u2019 curves. Designers at this time were brave and often broke new ground. For example, ceramicist-cum-pharmacist Ernest Bussi\u00e8re experimented with chemicals to create new textures and glazes on his vases. Shapes in graphics, ceramics, sculptures, buildings, metalware and furniture designs tended to be organic, while simultaneously very stylised.<\/p>\n \u2018The Germans called it Jugendstil<\/em> (Youth Style), while the Austrians called it Sezessionstil<\/em>, because it was popularised by the artists of the Vienna Secession art movement (formed in 1897 and led by Gustav Klimt). In Italy, it was referred to as Stile Liberty<\/em>.\u2019 While some suggest this is because it was inspired by English department store Liberty of London, others, including Robyne, think the Italian term probably has more to do with freedom. Whatever the source of this phrase, there\u2019s no doubt that Arthur Lasenby Liberty\u2019s store was a key champion of art nouveau design, employing the likes of Archibald Knox and Jessie M King to design a pioneering range of metalware pieces, including nostalgic Cymric (Celtic Revival) designs. \u2018At this time, many countries were coming into their own, searching for their romanticised pasts to draw upon,\u2019 says Robyne.\u00a0Liberty had contacts in many major cities, so the British \u2018take\u2019 on art nouveau \u2013 heavily influenced by, and overlapping with, the Arts and Crafts movement \u2013 spread worldwide. Liberty\u2019s products were written about in influential publications such as The Studio<\/em> magazine and Der Moderne Stil<\/em> and were bought by museum curators from Sweden to Vienna. \u2018Fabrics at Liberty featured the flowing botanical forms common to art nouveau, but they seem a little more solid than in continental\u00a0designs and have strong Arts and Crafts and Japanese influences,\u2019 says Anna Buruma, Liberty London\u2019s in-house Archivist.<\/p>\n Scottish Leaders<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2018Glasgow was particularly important for the development of design during the art nouveau era,\u2019 says Robyne. \u2018In 1900, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, his wife Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh and others from The Glasgow School of Art showed at the\u00a0eighth Secession exhibition in Vienna. Mackintosh influenced the Secessionists.\u2019 A couple of years later, in 1902, Mackintosh showed in a \u2018Scottish Section\u2019 at the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative Art in Turin, reaching an even larger audience. \u2018International exhibitions were incredibly important at this time,\u2019 explains Robyne. \u2018They were the places where you could go and see what was new \u2013 in industry and in design and architecture. After exhibitions, new designs were written\u00a0about in international art magazines and periodicals, so the reach was huge.\u2019 Unlike the flowing, ornate designs of most art nouveau artists and architects, Mackintosh\u2019s work featured bold, geometric shapes and basic forms alongside the more organic motifs. His innovative furniture, stained glass, architecture and interior decoration designs elevated Mackintosh to a unique position. \u2018In many ways, he was ahead of his time. Some of his work is a bit like the much later art deco style,\u2019 says Robyne. \u2018For example, his bold, geometric, black-and-yellow interior scheme at 78 Derngate in Northampton.\u2019 When the First World War broke out, art nouveau faded fast. This highly decorative, celebratory style was suddenly completely out of step with the international mood. \u2018There is a vitality to art nouveau,\u2019 says Robyne. \u2018War was huge and horrible and had a tremendous impact on any kind of creative or artistic movement \u2013 especially one that was a celebration of life. People weren\u2019t feeling overly positive, so it\u2019s difficult for anything to flourish at a moment like that. Also, during the First World War, resources were scarce.\u00a0Nobody was going to go around\u00a0gilding everything.\u2019<\/p>\n Nouveau Antiques<\/strong><\/p>\n Today, the market for art nouveau antiques is alive and well. Dealer Gavin Morgan, of Morgan Strickland Decorative Arts, says part of the appeal is the vast array of styles within the art nouveau bracket: \u2018There\u2019s something for everyone, from the restrained\u00a0geometry of the Austrian Secession and Mackintosh to the full-blown, over-the-top French pieces,\u2019 he explains. Art nouveau pieces command a huge range of prices, too. \u2018Metalware figures in pewter or\u00a0silver-plate by German firm\u00a0WMF are highly collectable because they were made in reasonably large numbers, so they\u2019re not prohibitively expensive,\u2019 explains Gavin.\u00a0At the other end of the scale,\u00a0items by Hector Guimard (who designed the sinuous, stylised ironwork Paris M\u00e9tro station entrances) or Tiffany lamps can fetch huge sums. \u2018With Tiffany lamps, the sky is pretty much the limit,\u2019 says Gavin. \u2018For the most average of lamps, you\u2019re looking at in excess of \u00a310,000 and rare examples can go for hundreds of thousands.\u2019 The most valuable Tiffany lamp ever sold reached $2.8m at a Christie\u2019s auction in 1998. So, in essence, what is it that makes art nouveau such an enduringly appealing style? \u2018At its best, art nouveau is pure perfection of proportion and form,\u2019 believes Gavin. \u2018You really don\u2019t get much better than that.\u2019<\/p>\n Hector Guimard designed ornate entrances to 141 Paris M\u00e9tro stations. Using green ironwork and curvaceous plant-like designs, highlights include\u00a0Porte Dauphine, Abbesses (pictured) and Crim\u00e9e stations. ratp.fr\/en<\/a> Charles Rennie Mackintosh\u2019s largest commission, this building was constructed in two phases (1899 and 1909) and reflects the early and mature design talents of Mackintosh. Architectural Historian Dr Jonathan Foyle has likened the building to \u2018a great ocean liner\u2019. gsa.ac.uk<\/a> Head here to see the interior of Georges Fouquet\u2019s ornate\u00a0jewellery shop (formerly at 6 Rue Royale), designed by Alphonse Mucha. \u2018Nature, I study it constantly, there is not a plant, a flower, a bit of life that is not full of suggestion,\u2019 wrote Alphonse. carnavalet.paris.fr<\/a> (NB museum closed until 2019) From advertising posters by Alphonse Mucha to elegant\u00a0furniture by the likes of\u00a0Louis Majorelle and Hector Guimard, there\u2019s an impressive collection of art nouveau designs to explore here. vam.ac.uk<\/a>![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/19\/2018\/07\/011-ARGORY-f662866.jpg?quality=90&resize=341%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div> What\u2019s interesting about art nouveau is that other countries gave it different names, but they were all strands of the same movement <\/blockquote> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n<\/div>
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<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\nThe best places to see art nouveau<\/strong><\/h2>\n
THE PARIS M\u00c9TRO, PARIS<\/h3>\n<\/div>
THE GLASGOW SCHOOL OF ART, GLASGOW<\/h3>\n<\/div>
MUS\u00c9E CARNAVALET, PARIS<\/h3>\n<\/div>
VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM, LONDON<\/h3>\n<\/div>