Art nouveau movement

1. HISTORY OF FURNITURE
ENGLISH FURNITURE FROM 16TH TO 18TH CENTURY
Art nouveau
FY B.VOC -HOF
ID. SANIKA DHUMAL

2. INTRODUCTION
What is Art Nouveau?
•Sometimes, design styles influence many creative pursuits. Art Nouveau furniture,
which features curving lines and organic shapes, was a result of ideas that merged
nature, design, and craftsmanship.
•Art Nouveau was a decorative style that became popular in Europe and the United
States between 1890 and 1910. It impacted, among other things, architecture,
States between 1890 and 1910. It impacted, among other things, architecture,
illustration and graphic arts, jewellery and glass design, and furniture design.
•The term 'Art Nouveau' is French, meaning literally 'new art.' And that's exactly what
its creators wanted to make.
•Art Nouveau was a desire to create a new style for the coming century, and a conscious
attempt to abandon any notion of the dated styles of the past.
• Its goal was a new art for a new age.

3. HISTORY OF ART NOUVEAU FURNITURE
•The Art Nouveau movement began in France and spread throughout Europe.
•Because it emerged in a brief period of time in so many places, Art Nouveau was known
by different names in different parts of Europe. For example, it was called Glasgow Style
in Scotland and the Vienna Secession in Austria.
•The artists and designers who worked in Art Nouveau wanted to rekindle an
appreciation of good craftsmanship in an age of growing industrialization and mass-
appreciation of good craftsmanship in an age of growing industrialization and mass-
production.
•Artists who created Art Nouveau furniture, like Charles Rennie Mackintosh of Scotland
and Hector Guimard of France, often worked in more than one arena of design.
•Several were architects who branched out into interior design and also designed objects
like lamps, furniture, and other items for the home.

4. Art Nouveau furniture was popular but it never
completely replaced other furniture styles. WHY?
•It was expensive to create and required a high level of skill.
•The furniture's most distinctive elements, elaborative curves, and twists had to be
done by hand. Creating and carving those curving forms from hardwoods wasn't easy.
The result was a style that most people couldn't afford.
•Art Nouveau fell out of favour by 1910, so it was relatively short-lived. But it proved
•Art Nouveau fell out of favour by 1910, so it was relatively short-lived. But it proved
very influential.
• Sometimes called the first 'modern style,' it fed into later art and design movements
including Art Deco and Modernism.

5. Example of Art Nouveau furniture, a
buffet cabinet designed by Hector
Guimard
Example of Art Nouveau furniture.
Notice the emphasis on curved and
elongated shapes

6. Characteristics of Art Nouveau furniture
Extreme Curves
•Art Nouveau furniture usually features interesting curves.
•The curves are inspired by nature; the bending of the grass in the wind, or the arch of a
new plant reaching for the sun.
•Some artists referred to the curves in Art Nouveau works as whiplash curves.
•Rhythmic patterns of curvy lines.
•The curvy lines connect the images in the art and can even be found in beautified plain
items, such as dishes, eating utensils, hardware and furniture.

7. A typical art nouveau style influenced living room

8. A typical art nouveau style influenced dining room

9. Characteristics of Art Nouveau furniture
Organic Inspiration
•An Art Nouveau should immediately make
you think of nature.
•You may see extra arches in a book case or
china cabinet that reach up like a tree limb
stretching to the sky.
stretching to the sky.
Images of Flowers, Plants, Birds
or Insects
•Art Nouveau designers loved to work
images of insects, birds, plants and flowers
into their furniture.
•These are often carved or inlaid into the
furniture as decoration. Art Nouveau locker.

10. Casa Calvet Flower Bench by Antoni
Gaudi.
Buffet with water lilies by Hector
Guimard.

11. Characteristics of Art Nouveau furniture
Patterns of Curving Lines
•Many Art Nouveau pieces have carved, inlaid or built-on patterns of lines that swirl and
create waves
• Images of vines that climb the sides of the furniture are also common. Art Nouveau is
characterized by graceful, sinuous lines.
•The lines are rarely angular.
•The lines are rarely angular.
Desk by Van de Velde (Musée d'Orsay, Paris)
Furniture designed by Henry Van de Velde

12. How will you differentiate Art Nouveau style
with Art Deco style?
•The Art Nouveau style is often confused with the Art Deco style. Although the two may
seem similar at first glance, but there are important differences.
•During the Art Nouveau has already lost its popularity after the Second World War, Art
Deco has become particularly fashionable in the early '40s.
• Both styles of life also differ in concept - Art Deco focuses on luxurious fabrics and
• Both styles of life also differ in concept - Art Deco focuses on luxurious fabrics and
quality materials.
•Art Nouveau, however, is inspired by nature - determined by the abundant use of
wood inside

13. Famous Art Nouveau Furniture Designers
Hector Guimard:
•Guimard was a French architect, best-known
for designing the cast-iron entrances to the
Paris Metro.
• His furniture incorporated curved lines and
floral motifs, common of Art Nouveau, and had
floral motifs, common of Art Nouveau, and had
a subtle search for asymmetry expressed in
the incorporation of small details and
ornaments that were different on each side of
the piece.
•He often used mahogany and maple with a
fine varnished finish.
• Guimard's designs were complex and difficult
to produce, so they were not affordable for the
general public.
A Buffet by Hector Guimard

14. Famous Art Nouveau Furniture Designers
Louis Majorelle
•Majorelle was a French furniture designer
and decorator.
•He came from a family of furniture
manufacturers, so he was able to personally
produce many of his designs.
produce many of his designs.
•His furniture pieces had abundant curved
lines and he became known for the use of
elaborate bronze embellishments made
from curved lines and floral motifs.
•Majorelle often combined alder, walnut, or
mahogany with exotic woods like snake-
wood, creating interesting combinations of
dark and lighter tones.
Bedroom Furniture by Louis Majorelle

15. Famous Art Nouveau Furniture Designers
Antoni Gaudí
•In Spain, Art Nouveau was combined with local influences and became known as
Spanish Modernism.
•furniture designs incorporated the curved lines and floral motifs of Art Nouveau,
combined with a more traditional Catalonian look, sturdier and not very ornamented.
Chair by Antoni Gaudí

16. Art Nouveau style - Facts
•Art Nouveau means “New Art” in French, and was a progressive stylistic movement at
the time of its inception in the late 19th century.
•Although “Art Nouveau” has become the common name for the movement in English,
there were many iterations across Europe and each was known by a different name.
What was Art Nouveau in France was “Jugendstil” in Germany, “Modernisme” in
Catalonia (Spain), and “Sezessionstil” in Austria-Hungary
Catalonia (Spain), and “Sezessionstil” in Austria-Hungary
• Art Nouveau artists frequently incorporated glass into their work. Artisans such as
Emile Galle, Rene Lalique, and Louis Comfort Tiffany used both established techniques
and new methods they developed to create their now iconic designs.
•Rene Lalique’s advancement of Art Nouveau style was not limited to glass. He also
produced fine jewellery employing the sinuous curves and natural elements typical of
the period, like this gold, opal, and enamel necklace.