Art Nouveau Lecture Notes

Flashcards covering the key concepts, artists, and characteristics of the Art Nouveau movement.

What does Art Nouveau mean in French?

"New Art"

Who opened the famous gallery "the Masion L’Art Nouveau"?

Siegfried “Samuel” Bing

What type of patterns did Bing require designers to use?

Ornamental patterns taken from nature, such as flowers, vines, leaves

What was a key characteristic of the natural patterns used in Art Nouveau?

They were abstracted natural forms, geometrically idealized

What are some characteristics of geometric idealization in Art Nouveau?

Perfect circles for centers of flowers, symmetrical repeating patterns, harmonically repetitive shapes

How does the representation of nature differ between Art Nouveau and the American Arts and Crafts movement?

Art Nouveau depicts nature as dynamic, whereas the American Arts and Crafts movement depicts idealized nature

What characteristics were displayed in geometricized designs in Art Nouveau?

Ovals, circles, symmetry, harmonically repetitive elements, nature domesticated, and dynamic motion

Who was Rene Lalique?

A jewelry designer who worked in metal, glass, and gemstones, and whose works were initially sold at Bing’s L’Art Nouveau Shop

What natural patterns did Rene Lalique use in his designs?

Flowers, leaves, insects, birds, and other animals represented as dynamically in motion

Who was Louis Comfort Tiffany?

An American artist and designer known for his work in stained glass in the Art Nouveau style

What did Louis Comfort Tiffany design?

Stained glass windows and lamps, glass mosaics, blown glass, ceramics, jewelry, enamels, and metalwork

What characteristics were present in the design of the Wisteria Lamp by Tiffany?

Abstracted natural forms, geometrically idealized shapes, symmetrical rhythmically placed pattern

What characteristics define dynamism in Art Nouveau?

A focus on dynamic structure, growing upwards stretching, flexible overlapping elements

What was the Universal Exposition of 1900?

A world’s fair held in Paris, France, celebrating achievements of the past century and accelerating developments into the next

What style was universally present in the Universal Exposition of 1900?

Art Nouveau

What did the Universal Exposition of 1900 include?

Olympic games, exhibits of machines like Rudolf Diesel’s engine, award-winning Campbell’s soup factory processes, escalators, and more than 76,000 exhibits

Who designed the official entrance to the Universal Exposition?

Rene Binet

What were some examples of geometrized patterns and natural forms used in structures at the Universal Exposition?

Vines, flowers, leaves, and shells geometrized in the Grand Palais and Petit Palais

What was the Bing Pavillon?

Six model rooms simulating living environments with furniture by Georges De Feure, emphasizing the principle of creating an ambience with nature abstracted and geometric idealization

What was the School of Nancy?

Founded in the city of Nancy in France, Louis Majorelle was a decorator and furniture designer who manufactured his own designs in the "school of nancy" art nouveau style

Who was Louis Majorelle?

A decorator and furniture designer who manufactured his own designs in the "school of nancy" art nouveau style

How did Louis Majorelle create his designs?

Modeled in clay resulting in pinched looking patterns, combining wood, metal, and glass to represent dynamic processes

Who was Hector Guimard?

An architect who designed private residences and many of the metro stations for the new underground transportation system in Paris in 1900

Why does Art Nouveau make sense for metro stations?

Because the stations represent the fusion between human-made things and the natural world.

What inspirations appear in Art Nouveau styles?

Charle Darwin 'the origin of species' 1859 and 'descent of man' 1871 along with evolutionism, adaptation, natural selection, and metamorphosis

What key elements are used in Art Nouveau?

Different materials (dynamism in nature's constant motion), metamorphosis (nature's constant transformation), and fusion (one material adapting to another)