Art Movements & Vocabulary

Art Nouveau

  • Emerged in the late 1800s as a reaction against academic art.
  • Artists felt art should flow from the soul, not be studied like science.
  • A short but influential movement from 1890 to 1910.
  • "Art Nouveau" means "new art" in French.
  • Moved away from imitating real subjects and towards organic forms and shapes of nature.
  • Ornamentation featured whiplash curves.
  • Inspired by flowing lines of Japanese woodblock prints.
  • Influenced by the Arts and Crafts movement's emphasis on hand craftsmanship and the simplicity of Post-Impressionists.
  • Common characteristics:
    • Muted colors like olive green, carnation pink, and periwinkle blue.
    • Writhing and swirling lines.
    • Natural imagery.
    • Illustrations of deep-sea creatures and plants.
  • Examples found in sculpture, painting, architecture, jewelry and household items.
  • Innovated interior design with harmonious and continuous decor.
  • Aimed to replace mass-produced items with coordinated decorations and furniture.
  • Gave importance to graphic arts, especially the poster as an art form.
  • Henri Toulouse-Lautrec's posters contained illustrations and decorative lettering.
  • Graphics beautified book covers, catalogs, and playbills.
  • Luis Comfort Tiffany's designs in glass with natural imagery are prime examples.
    • Tiffany's lamps and windows

Art Deco

  • An interior design style with a signature aesthetic focused around luxury.
  • Emerged during the Roaring Twenties.
  • Broke away from the plant-inspired motifs and organic forms of Art Nouveau.
  • Incorporated geometric shapes, symmetry, and ornamentation to evoke Hollywood glamour.
  • Examples: Chrysler Building and Rockefeller Center in New York City.
  • Features:
    • Strong shapes like spheres, rectangles, zigzags, and chevrons.
    • Materials: aluminum, chrome, and stained glass.
    • Neutral color palette: black, brown, gray, and white with accents of red, green, and gold.
    • Furniture: Industrial materials and lacquered wood, velour material.
    • Floor lamps, wall fixtures, and ceiling lights constructed from striking shapes and materials.
    • Mirrors, paintings, or retro antiques.
    • Exuberant design

Vocabulary

  • Sztuki uzytkowej: Applied arts.
  • Wydluzone przedstawienie: Elongated depiction.
  • Sztuka dla sztuki: Art for art's sake - art doesn't have any moral, political, or utilitarian function.
  • Witraz: Stained glass.
  • Obrazowanie, symbolika: Natural imagery, symbolism.
  • Krzęta: Twisting.
  • Bujna: Prolific.
  • Krzywa: Curve.
  • Drzeworyty: Woodcuts, woodblock prints.
  • Zgaszone: Muted, subdued.
  • Fine arts and applied arts
    Painting: decorative, colorful, elongated depictions of sensuous women, art for art's sake, utility/utilitarian).
    Graphic arts: posters, paybills, beautified / adorned / embellished, book covers, decorative illustrations and lettering, typography).
    Architecture, jewellery, household items and furniture: stained glass lamps and windows).
  • Move away/break away from imitation of real subjects
  • Nature as the primary source of inspiration
  • Flowing and twisting organic lines
  • Writhing/sinuous and swirling lines
  • Undulating lines
  • Motifs shapes of nature, sea creatures and plants, tendrils
  • Natural imagery
  • Organic prolific ornamentation
  • It features whiplash curves
  • Woodcut woodblock prints (Japanese inspirations)
  • Muted/subdued colors
    Harmonious interior design and decor: consistent, cohesive. coherent
  • Metalwork
  • Arches and curves
  • Asymmetrical shapes
  • Glassware
    Vocabulary Match:
    derive: to develop or come from something else
    applied arts: functional arts
    uplifting: making you feel better and more joyful
    encompass: to include a wide range of ideas, subjects, etc.
    cohesive: connected or related in a reasonable way to form a whole
    Decor: the way that the inside of a building is decorated
    flamboyant: brightly coloured and easily noticed, vivid
    highlight: to make a problem or subject easy to notice; the most important, interesting part of something