Art Nouveau: Clothing and jewelery

Fashion

Men's clothing differed little from preceding periods, although a trend towards less formality continued. A square silhouette, broad, padded shoulders and straight body was typical. New inventions like the zipper found their way into fashion. Women's clothing softened, sleeves became more modest, and a soft, triangular silhouette developed. Later the triangular skirt became cylindrical, producing a narrow, rectangular silhouette. Bodices and skirts were more commonly combined into one-piece dresses, and lighter construction was used. Tailored looks became more popular. Top fashion designers such as Paul Poiret experimented with unusual silhouettes. Soft fabrics like crepe, charmeuse, chiffon, and batiste were popular for tea dresses and evening gowns. Dresses made of lace, or embroidered cotton combined with lace, were fashionable for warm weather. Firmer fabrics such as wool and cotton duck were used for tailored wear.

The art nouveau “look” was at the cutting edge of modern style. Only the most fashionable wore it in its fullest manifestation, while others preferred moderated versions. These styles were spread internationally through fashion journals, such as Les Modes and down through middle-class oriented magazines such as The Ladies Field and La Mode illustrée. Les Modes of July 1902 featured, for example, an art nouveau ball dress by Maggy Rouff with full-length swirls in silver and diamante, on a straw-colored silk ground trimmed with alençon lace.

From 1895 all the top twenty or so Paris salons were developing art nouveau fashions, from the House of Worth (whose designer was by then Jean-Philippe Worth) through the salons of Doucet, Maggy Rouff, Jeanne Paquin, and Laferriere to cite just a few. They launched season after season of art nouveau-styled garments on to the international fashion market. Examples survive in the great fashion collections of museums in Paris and the United States.

Maggy Rouff

Maggy modelling one of her own designs

La Maison Maggy Rouff was one of the great fashion houses, from 1929 to its closure in 1979 . Maggy Rouff nicknamed "the architect of fashion" liked to play on asymmetry. The perfection of his technique from his medical studies, earned him the admiration of his peers and commercial success. After his death in 1971, the House Maggy Rouff perpetuated its innovative designs and colorful prints. Its history and the richness of its range, Maggy Rouff still experiencing a strong reputation in France and abroad.

Jeanne Paquin

Born in Saint-Denis in 1869, Paquin trained as a dressmaker at Rouff and later opened her own fashion house in 1891. The Maison Paquin quickly became known for its eighteenth century-inspired pastel evening dresses and tailored day dresses, as well as for its numerous publicity stunts, including organizing fashion parades to promote her new models and sending her models to operas and races in order to show off her designs. Paquin also frequently collaborated with the illustrators and architects Leon Bakst, George Barbier, Robert Mallet-Stevens, and Louis Süe for the creation of stage costumes, the publication of dress albums and the decoration of her private residences, reinforcing her reputation as a thoroughly modern designer. Beginning in 1912, the her fashions were attractively illustrated in the fashion magazine La Gazette du Bon Ton


Jewelry

In the 1890s, jewellers began to explore the potential of the growing Art Nouveau style and the closely related German, British (and to some extent American) Arts and Crafts Movement.

Art Nouveau jewellery encompassed many distinct features including a focus on the female form and an emphasis on colour, most commonly rendered through the use of enamelling techniques including basse-taille, champleve, cloisonné, and plique-à-jour. Motifs included orchids, irises, pansies, vines, swans, peacocks, snakes, dragonflies, mythological creatures, and the female silhouette.

René Lalique, working for the Paris shop of Samuel Bing, was recognised by contemporaries as a leading figure in this trend. The Darmstadt Artists' Colony and Wiener Werkstätte provided perhaps the most significant German input to the trend, while in Denmark Georg Jensen, though best known for his Silverware, also contributed significant pieces. In England, Liberty & Co. and the British arts & crafts movement of Charles Robert Ashbee contributed slightly more linear but still characteristic designs. The new style moved the focus of the jeweller's art from the setting of stones to the artistic design of the piece itself. Lalique's dragonfly design is one of the best examples of this. Enamels played a large role in technique, while sinuous organic lines are the most recognisable design feature.

Glass making was a domain where art nouveau found a great expression – as example we have the works off Louis Comfort Tiffany in New York, Emile Galle and the Daum brothers in Nancy, France and Charles Rennie Mackintosh in Glasgow.

The holidays are over!

So I spent most of my Easter break in uni. We got the MACCTs floor cloth finished and the tower and arches done too! I didn't go home for Easter but my lovely mum sent me and my little bunny some Easter eggs to Glasgow which was a lovely surprise :)I took the 3rd week off and went home for a few days as my brother was up. Had a few days of seeing friends and family and trying to relax a bit.

Mumma B is the best!

Finished MACCT tower

Last week I was back in finishing a painting i've been doing for my brothers christmas....last year. I've now decided its a flat warming present for his new investment! It was driving me a little crazy as id been working on it for so long I wasn't enjoying working on it anymore but I got stuck in and came in early a couple of days so it was just me in and I had no distractions,. Finally got it finished on friday, im not 100% happy with it but I think if i spent any more time on it i'd just end up making a mess of it. So i came to my own decision that it was finished, and Matt very kindle reinforced the frame to make it a bit more sturdy. I hope Rowan likes it, im not sure when he's going to get it though...

So back to uni tomorrow, the last stretch. Turns out I only have a few more weeks left as technically im finished my hours and credits in mid May....that's a little scary! Better start churning out the personal projects whilst I can still steal the resources!! Oh and i should probably make a start on my piles of paperwork....Definately don't feel like im leaving in a couple of months....scary!!

Art Nouveau: Architecture

In Architecture, the Art Nouveau style particularly shows the synthesis of ornament and structure. This type of architecture was characterized by a liberal combination of materials – glass, iron, ceramic and brickwork – which was employed in the creation of interiors in which beams and columns became thick vines with spreading tendrils and the windows became both opening for air and light and membranous outgrowths of the organic whole. It’s safe to say that this approach was surely directed opposed to the traditional architectural values of clarity and reason of structure.

Constanta city at Black Sea

Art Nouveau art and architecture flourished in major European cities between 1890 and 1914.

In the United States, Art Nouveau ideas were expressed in the work of Louis Comfort Tiffany, Louis Sullivan, and Frank Lloyd Wright.

Art Nouveau buildings have many of these features:

• Asymmetrical shapes
• Extensive use of arches and curved forms
• Curved glass
• Curving, plant-like embellishments
• Mosaics
• Stained glass
• Japanese motifs

Gaudi, Barcelona, Spain

Metro Entrance, Paris

Some examples of Art nouveau can be seen in these buildings...

The Wainwright Building in St. Louis, Missouri, by Louis Sullivan and Dankmar Adlel

• Parque Güell in Barcelona, Spain by Antoni Gaudí

• Majolika Haus in Vienna, Austria by Otto Wagner

• The Municipal House in Prague, Czech Republic

Art Nouveau architects

Hector Guimard was born in Lyon, France, but he studied decorative arts and architecture in Paris, where he later established his own practice. Inspired by some of the new architectural theories circulating in late 1800s, he produced some exceptional avant-garde works. In particular, the radical ideas of French architect Viollet-le-Duc and the sinuous architecture of Belgian Victor Horta greatly influenced his designs. 

In 1895, after visiting the first Art Nouveau building, Victor Horta's "Hotel Tassel" in Brussels, Guimard proceeded to a complete re-evaluation of his artistic approach; furniture and interior decoration of a house had to become parts of a total work of art. From 1898 to 1905 he designed and created the station entrances of Paris subway " Le Métropolitain"; they were a fabulous expression of Art Nouveau, the new art, which was discovered during the 1900 World Exposition in Paris.

The architectural and decorative works of Hector Guimard are characterized by fluid, unusual lines, vibrant curves inspired by nature, essential shapes underlined by light and contrast of the different materials used, such as wood, iron and stone. They are the most representatives of the organic and floral Art Nouveau Style in France, and his would later be known as the "Guimard Style". Otto Wagner (1841-1918) studied architecture at the School of Architecture at Vienna Academy, Austria, where he later became a teacher. Among his students were the some renowned art nouveau architects. From 1895 he was influenced by new art styles, more suited to the needs of modern way of life and developed his theories on architecture, relating to function, material and construction, in the book "Modern Architecture" (1895). In 1898, he built his first Art Nouveau building, the Majolica House in Vienna, a functional structure with the facade covered in multicolored majolica tiles. He also designed in 1894, the Vienna metropolitan railway system. Otto Wagner was one of the founding members of the Vienna Secession, with fellow artists Klimt, Hoffmann and Olbrich, in 1899. He was one of the most influential artists of the turn of the century : architect, urnbanist, applied artist and theoretician, his writings laid the groundwork for Modernism in architecture. In his architectural works, he was receptive to the use of modern methods of building (steel frame construction) and new materials (thin marble slabs for the façades).

Louis Henri Sullivan (1856-1924), 

American architect, whose brilliant early designs for steel-frame skyscraper construction led to the emergence of the skyscraper as the distinctive American building type. 

Through his own work, especially his commercial structures, and as the founder of what is now known as the Chicago School of architects, he exerted an enormous influence on 20th-century American architecture. His most famous pupil was the architect Frank Lloyd Wright, who acknowledged Sullivan as his master.

The son of a dancing teacher, Sullivan was born in Boston on September 3, 1856. After studying architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he spent a year in Paris at the École des Beaux-Arts and in the office of a French architect. Settling in Chicago in 1875, he was employed as a draftsman, then in 1881 formed a partnership with Dankmar Adler. Together they produced more than 100 buildings. Adler secured the clients and handled the engineering and acoustical problems, while Sullivan concerned himself with the architectural designs. 

One of their earliest and most distinguished joint enterprises was the ten-story Auditorium Building (1886-89) in Chicago. This famous showplace incorporated a hotel, an office building, and a theater renowned for its superb acoustics. The Wainwright Building, also ten stories high, with a metal frame, was completed in 1891 in St. Louis, Missouri. 

In 1895 the Sullivan-Adler partnership was dissolved, leading to a decline in Sullivan's practice. The Carson Pirie Scott (originally Schlesinger & Mayer) Department Store, Chicago, regarded by many as Sullivan's masterpiece, was completed in 1904. His architectural practice declined alarmingly after that; his last buildings are a series of small banks in the Midwest. All are admired for their superb fusion of bold architectural forms with Sullivan's characteristic sumptuous ornament. Outstanding are the Security Bank (originally National Farmers' Bank; 1908) in Owatonna, Minnesota, and the People's Savings Bank (1911) in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Concerned with aesthetics as well as being a working architect, he expressed his ideas in lectures and writings, including the classic Autobiography of an Idea (1924, reprinted 1956). His famous axiom, “Form follows function,” became the touchstone for many in his profession. 

Sullivan, however, did not apply it literally. He meant that an architect should consider the purpose of the building as a starting point, not as a rigidly limiting stricture. He himself employed a rich vocabulary of ornament, even on his skyscrapers. 

Sullivan's designs often used masonry walls with terra cotta designs. Intertwining vines and leaves combined with crisp geometric shapes. This Sullivanesque style was imitated by other architects, and his later work formed the foundation for the ideas of his student, Frank Lloyd Wright.

Louis Sullivan believed that the exterior of an office building should reflect its interior structure and its interior functions. 

Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1868 – 1928)

was one of eleven children, and he suffered from a limp and other health problems. Encouraged to spend time in the country, he developed a love of nature that later found expression in his Art Nouveau designs.

With his wife, Margaret MacDonald, Charles Rennie Mackintosh pioneered modern design in Scotland, and their Art Nouveau works helped lay the foundation for the Arts & Crafts movement in Britain.

Buildings designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh are praised for their elegant detailing and skillful use of light and space.

During his time at the Glasgow School of Art, Mackintosh was part of "The Four," a group of designers that included the sisters Margaret and Frances MacDonald and follow artist Herbert McNair.

"The Four" exhibited posters, graphic designs, and furniture in Great Britain and Europe. Along with other artists and designers, they developed the Glasgow Style, known for strong lines and graceful, symbolic shapes.

Art Nouveau

For my Period styles and art history investigation I have decided to research into Art Nouveau. I decided to research this as I find the style beautiful and Im really interested into how it came about and the history behind the movement.
In this investigation I will look into the history, materials and beliefs of the time when the style appeared. I will research into architecture, fine art, fashion, decorative arts, furniture and theatre.

Art Nouveau: c 1890-1910

The name ‘Art Nouveau’ came from La Maison de l’Art Nouveau, a shop and interior design 
gallery opened in Paris in 1895 by Samuel Bing. There was never any idea that it would 
become a generic term but somehow it caught on.
Art Nouveau is the name for the artistic movement that started in Europe around 1890 and lasted until around 1910. It took on many different characteristics in different places, and some of the most famous designers from the era have different styles, including Antoni Gaudi in Barcelona, Josef Hoffmann in Vienna and Carlo Bugatti in Italy. What these designers had in common was an interest in finding a new artistic vocabulary that could best express the modern world. Art nouveau could be said to be the first 20th century modern style. It was the first style to stop looking backwards in history for ideas, taking inspiration instead from what it saw around it.

Art Nouveau, as a movement was remarkable in the way that it spread throughout Europe 
and the world. Paris and Britain can be seen as the center of the movement but each country 
developed its own interpretation and made it their own to some extent. By the turn of the 
century the movement was an international phenomenon but there was no single style- all the 
countries demonstrated their own national characteristics. Art Nouveau was also primarily an 
urban style and was focused very much on the big cities of the countries it touched. 

In an era of industrialised production, many designers looked to a local, pre-industrial past for a foundation; in Russia that was folk tales and folk history, and in France it was the 18th-century 'golden age' of French design. Some artists welcomed technological progress and embraced the aesthetic possibilities of new materials such as cast iron. Others disapproved the shoddiness of mass-produced machine-made goods and aimed to elevate the decorative arts to the level of fine art by applying the highest standards of craftsmanship and design to everyday objects. Working in cities like Paris, Nancy and Brussels, Art Nouveau designers found greatest inspiration in nature — not necessarily nature's beauty, but instead its vital force, its never-changing life cycle of birth, life, decay and death. Nature sometimes took the role of a creepy other-world, governed by dark uncontrollable forces.

This idea of an uncontrollable world all around us was mirrored in the Art Nouveau interest in psychology, symbolism and the supernatural. Sigmund Freud was writing about the unconscious dream world, and artists were trying to explore that world through art and design.

As always, women were important muses for artists and designers, Art Nouveau woman had a menacing twist. She was alluringly sexual, but also scandalous, morally compromised, even mortally threatening.

The style of art nouveau can be described as:

• elongated, curvy lines
• the whiplash line
• vertical lines and height
• stylised flowers, leaves, roots, buds and seedpods
• the female form - in a pre-Raphaelite pose with long, flowing hair
• exotic woods, marquetry, iridescent glass, silver and semi-precious stones