Art Nouveau - French for "The New Art." An international art movement and style of decoration and architecture of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, characterized particularly by the curvilinear depiction of leaves and flowers, often in the form of vines. These might also be described as foliate forms, with sinuous lines, and non-geometric, "whiplash" curves. Gustav Klimt (Austrian, 1862-1918), Alphonse Mucha (Czechoslovakian, 1860-1939), Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (French, 1861-1901), Aubrey Beardsley (English, 1872-1898), Antonio Gaudí (Spanish, 1852-1926), and Hector Guimard (French, 1867-1942) were among the most prominent artists associated with this style. The roots of Art Nouveau go back to Romanticism, Symbolism, the English Arts and Crafts Movement and William Morris (English, 1834-1896). In America, it inspired, among others, Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848-1933). The name is derived from "La Maison de l'Art Nouveau," a gallery for interior design that opened in Paris in 1896. Art Nouveau is known in Germany as Jugenstil and in England as Yellow Book Style, and epitomizes what is sometimes called fin de siècle style. It reached the peak of its popularity around 1900, only to be gradually overtaken by art deco and other modernist styles.

(pr. art noo-voh')

Examples:

Vilmos Zsolnay (Hungarian, 1828-1900), Vase, 1899, earthenware with iridescent metallic luster glaze, Minneapolis Institute of Arts. See Hungarian art.

Agathon Léonard (French, 1841-1923) for Sèvres, Royal Porcelain Factory, Dancing Figure from the Table Centrepiece 'Dance with Scarves', 1900, bisque porcelain, height 47.5 cm, Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia. This figure is one of fourteen in a set of female figures dancing and playing music. See drapery.

Émile Gallé (French, 1846-1904), Dragonfly Coupe, La Libellule, layered, inlaid, blown, and trailed glass, internal metal-foil decoration, cut, engraved, height 18.3 cm, Corning Museum of Glass, NY.

Émile Gallé, Bat Vase, c. 1903-1904, wheel-cut and acid-etched glass with applied cabochons over silver foil, Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

American (Tiffany Studios?), Window in the Winchester "Mystery House," c. 1890s (house built 1884-1922), colored and beveled glass, San Jose, CA. Sarah L. Winchester, a wealthy widow — heiress to the Winchester Rifle fortune — began the construction of what became a 160-room mansion, ending only at her death 38 years later. This may be one of the stained glass windows she commissioned Tiffany Studios to produce for the house.

Louis Comfort Tiffany (American, 1848-1933) for Tiffany Glass and Decorating Company, Three-panel screen, c. 1900, leaded Favrile glass in bronze frame, Lillian Nassau Ltd., NY.

Louis Comfort Tiffany, manufactured by Tiffany Studios, New York, NY, Vase, 1913, favrile glass, 20 1/2 x 11 x 4 1/2 inches (52.1 x 27.9 x 11.4 cm).

Attributed to George Prentiss Kendrick (United States, 1850-1919), Handled Vase, 1898-1902, stoneware, glaze, height 11 inches (27.94 cm), diameter 9 1/4 inches (23.5 cm), Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

Antoní Gaudí (Spanish, 1852-1926), manufactured by Gaudí's workshop, Prayer Bench, 1898-1914, wood and wrought iron, 32 5/8 x 44 1/2 x 26 inches (82.9 x 113 x 66 cm), seat height 16 5/8 inches (42.2 cm), Museum of Modern Art, NY.

Antoní Gaudí, Wall clock from the Casa Milá, Barcelona, 1906-1910, gilded wood, private collection. See architect, architecture, horology, and Spanish art.

Ferdinand Hodler (Swiss, 1853-1918), Study for Day, c. 1898-99, oil on canvas, 106 x 100 cm (42 x 39 1/2 inches), Detroit Institute of Arts, MI. See Swiss art.

Ferdinand Hodler, Day II (Der Tag. 2. Fassung), 1904 / 06, oil on canvas, 163 x 358 cm, Kunsthaus Zurich, Switzerland.

Ferdinand Hodler, Der Niesen, 1910, oil on canvas, 83 x 105.5 cm, Kunstmuseum Basel, Switzerland. See landscape.

Louis Majorelle (French, 1859-1926), Armoire, c. 1900-1910, fruitwood and tropical veneers, oak, mirror, Columbia Museum of Art, SC. See furniture and wood.

Louis Sullivan (American, 1856-1924) and George Grant Elmslie (American, 1871-1952), Main entrance to the Schlesinger and Meyer Department Store (now Carson Pirie Scott & Co.), Chicago, featuring Art Nouveau style cast iron decor, 1899-1901 (additions 1901-1904). See Prairie school.

Louis Sullivan (American, 1856-1924) and George Grant Elmslie (American, 1871-1952), Elevator medallion from the Schlesinger and Mayer Department Store (now Carson Pirie Scott & Co.), Chicago, 1898-1899, copper-plated cast iron, Seymore H. Persky collection.

Giovanni Segantini (Italian, 1858-1899), Love at the Fountain of Life (L'amore alla fonte della vita), oil on canvas, 72 x 100 cm, Civica Galleria d'Arte Moderna, Milano. See Segantini stitch.

Théophile Alexandre Steinlen (French, 1859-1923), Chat Noir, color lithograph. This poster advertised an event at the Chat Noir, a Paris cabaret from 1881 to 1897.

Théophile Alexandre Steinlen, Compagnie Française des Chocolate et des Thés, 1895, color lithograph poster, Cleveland Museum of Art, OH.

René Jules Lalique (French, 1860-1945), Necklace, c. 1895-1905, gold, enamel, Australian opal, Siberian amethysts; overall diameter 9 1/2 inches (24.1 cm); 9 large pendants: 2 3/4 x 2 1/4 inches (7 x 5.7 cm), 9 small pendants: 1 3/8 x 1 1/4 inches (3.5 x 3.2 cm), Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY. See Art Deco.

Alphonse Marie Mucha (Czech, 1860-1939), Job, 1898, lithograph in five colors: red, yellow, blue green, dark violet, and black, 54 1/2 x 36 1/2 in. (138.43 x 92.71 cm). This poster advertised a brand of cigarette papers. See Czech art.

Alphonse Marie Mucha, Maude Adams (1872-1953) as Joan of Arc, 1909, oil on canvas, 82 1/4 x 30 inches (208.9 x 76.2 cm), Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY.

Victor Horta (Belgian, 1861-1947), Tassel House, Brussels, 1893. First floor landing with view towards staircase.

Agostino Lauro (Italian, 1861-1924), Sofa, 1900-1901, mahogany with silk moiré, the Mitchell Wolfson Jr. Collection, The Wolfsonian-Florida International U, Miami Beach, FL. See furniture and wood.

François Rupert Carabin (French, 1862-1932), Chair, 1896, wood, private collection. See furniture.

Gustav Klimt (Austrian, 1862-1918), Serena Lederer (died 1943), 1899, oil on canvas, 75 1/8 x 33 5/8 inches (190.8 x 85.4 cm), Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY. See Austrian art, emphasis, portrait, and secession.

Gustav Klimt, Portrait of Hermine Gallia, 1904, oil on canvas, 170.5 x 96.5 cm, Tate Gallery, London.

Gustav Klimt, Hope, II, 1907-08, oil, gold, and platinum on canvas, 43 1/2 x 43 1/2 inches, (110.5 x 110.5 cm), Museum of Modern Art, NY. See pattern.

Gustav Klimt, The Park, 1910 or earlier, oil on canvas, 43 1/2 x 43 1/2 inches (110.4 x 110.4 cm), Museum of Modern Art, NY.

Paul Signac (French, 1863-1935), Portrait of Félix Fénéon, 1890, oil on canvas, private collection.

Henry van de Velde (Belgian, 1863-1957), Tropon, 1897, color lithograph, 31 x 20 cm, Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, Iran.

Henry van de Velde, Desk, 1898, wood and metal, German National Museum, Nurnberg.

Henry van de Velde, Candelabrum, 1898-1899, electroplated bronze, Musées Royaux d'Art et d'Histoire, Brussels. See candelabrum.

Henry van de Velde, designer (Belgian, 1863-1957), for Meissen Factory (German), Plate, c. 1903, glazed porcelain, Cleveland Museum of Art, OH.

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (French, 1864-1901), Divan Japonais, 1893, color lithograph, complete: 31 5/8 x 23 7/8 inches (80.3 x 60.7 cm), Museum of Modern Art, NY. This poster advertises a cabaret in Montmartre, Paris. In the center sits the famous cancan dancer Jane Avril, whose elegant black silhouette dominates the scene. Lithographed posters proliferated during the 1890s due to technical advances in color printing and the relaxation of laws restricting the placement of posters. Dance halls, café-concerts, and festive street life invigorated nighttime activities. Toulouse-Lautrec's brilliant posters, made as advertisements, captured the vibrant appeal of the prosperous Belle Époque. See a page about Toulouse-Lautrec and Post-Impressionism.

Designed by Hector Guimard (French, 1867-1942), Panel, c. 1900, early 20th century, silk and paint on silk, width 18 inches (45.7 cm), length 27 inches (68.6 cm), Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY. See curvilinear.

Hector Guimard, Side Chair, c.1904, pearwood with leather upholstery, 47 X 18 X 17 1/4 inches (119.4 X 45.7 X 43.8 cm), Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, PA. See furniture and wood.

Hector Guimard, Side Table, c. 1904-07, pear wood, 29 7/8 x 20 1/2 x 17 7/8 inches (75.9 x 52.1 x 45.4 cm), Museum of Modern Art, NY.

William H. Bradley (American, 1868-1962) for Stone & Kimball (Chicago), The Chap Book: Thanksgiving Number, 1895, color lithograph, 19 5/8 x 18 7/8 inches (49.9 x 33.8 cm), Baltimore Museum of Art. See poster.

William H. Bradley, for Narcoti Chemical Co. (Springfield, Massachusetts), Narcoti-Cure, 1895, color lithograph, 20 x 13 1/2 inches (50 x 34 cm), Baltimore Museum of Art. The product advertised here was promoted as a cure for the cigarette smoking habit, although the curative value of using a narcotic to do it remains suspect.

Charles Rennie Mackintosh (Scottish, 1868-1928), Side Chair, 1897, oak and silk, 54 3/8 x 20 x 18 inches (138.1 x 50.8 x 45.7 cm), seat height 17 inches (43.2 cm), Museum of Modern Art, NY.

Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Ladies' Luncheon Room from Miss Cranston's Ingram Street Tearooms, 1900, Glasgow Museums, Art Gallery and Museum, Kelvingrove. See Arts and Crafts Movement.

Józef Mehoffer (Polish, 1869-1946), The Strange Garden, 1903, oil on canvas, 217 x 208 cm, Polish National Museum, Warsaw, Poland. Member of Sztuka (Art), an organization of Polish painters related to Art Nouveau founded in 1897.

Josef Hoffmann (Austrian, 1870-1956) for Wiener Werkstätte, Fruit Basket, 1904, silver, Victoria and Albert Museum, London. See basket.

Josef Hoffmann for Wiener Werkstätte, Square Brooch, silver lattice, repoussé gold, and opal, c. 1905. See jewelry, opalescence, and secession.

Josef Hoffmann (Austrian, 1870-1956), designer, at the studio of Wiener Werkstätte, for J. & J. Kohn, Austrian manufacturer, Sitzmaschine Chair with Adjustable Back, c. 1905, bent beechwood and sycamore panels, 43 1/2 x 28 1/4 x 32 inches (110.5 x 71.8 x 81.3 cm), Museum of Modern Art, NY. "Sitzmashine" is literally "machine for sitting," an apparent bow to the mechanical aspects of the modernism. Hoffmann and the Wiener Werkstätte championed the aesthetic of the Vienna Secession.

František [aka Franz or Frank] Kupka (Czech, 1871-1957), View from a Carriage Window, c. 1901, gouache and watercolor on paper with cardboard overlay, with cut out overlay: 19 7/8 x 23 5/8 inches (50.6 x 60 cm), Museum of Modern Art, NY. See Symbolism and Orphism.

Sir Thomas Malory (British, 15th c.), Author; Aubrey Beardsley (British, 1872-1898), Illustrator; London: J. M. Dent and Co., 1893, Publisher, Morte d'Arthur, 1893, printed book; 12 pts. : ill. , pl. ; 26 cm, Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY.
Illustrated: Aubrey Beardsley's design for the printed paper wrapper from Part I
See fin de siècle and illustration.

Aubrey Beardsley, The Dream, 1896, pen and black ink, J. Paul Getty Museum, Malibu, CA.

Lambert Escaler (French, 1874-1957), Jardinière, c. 1903, polychrome terra cotta, 27 x 40 x 23 cm, National Museum of Catalonian Art, Barcelona.

Katharine Newbury (American, 1878-1973), Bookplate for a Woman, c. 1904, ink on paper, Michael Delahunt collection. This bookplate bears the text,". OLD WOOD TO BURN . OLD BOOKS TO READ . OLD FRIENDS TO TRUST ." Having graduated from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1902, Katharine Newbury pursued a career as a graphic designer. She produced many letterheads and monograms, and illustrated at least one book, a cookbook. She also designed household objects, including a pair of wrought iron firedogs; and she painted a number of pictures in watercolor. Newbury married George Manierre III in 1906. They had five children. Virtually all of her extant artworks predate that year. One of her children — Samuel Manierre (1908-1988) — became an art historian and teller of tales, and one of her grandchildren produces the Web site you are looking at. See feminism and feminist art.

Here is how you can print Katharine Newbury's bookplate on adhesive paper for your own use: Insert "full sheet labels" into your computer's printer. Avery brand labels (product #8165 for ink jet printers),  can be purchased from a local office supply store or Avery - Office Products. On each 8 1/2 x 11 inch white sheet you will print eight 2 x 5 inch bookplates. Make your prints in one or both of these sets of colors: in reds, blues, and browns or in greens, pink, and violets. These are "PDF" files that you can open with the free Acrobat Reader (version 4 or later).

University City Pottery (United States, 1909-1915), Frederick Hurten Rhead (American, born England, 1880-1942), Vase, 1911, earthenware, 17 1/4 x 5 1/8 inches (43.82 x 13.02 cm), Los Angeles County Museum of Art.