Art nouveau

Art NOUVEAU Defined Design from 1890-1914

Design Features

The features that defined this era were dreamlike, rhythmical, muted warm colors, integrated with delicate floral motifs. Designers utilized flowing curved lines and objects natural forms. There is many iconic features of this period as well, some of the most memorable being: tiffany lamps, glassware, pewter, silver ware, peacock feathers, stained glass, smooth plain tiles, stenciled walls and ceilings, ironwork, and electrical lighting.

Materials Used

This period marked one of the first times when natural vegetable dyes were used to build a color palette. Cast iron, due to its abundance, was the most common material during this time. Steel came to the forefront of design as many buildings were being destroyed by fires. Ceramics became popularized due to their waterproof, fireproof, and pollution proof qualities. Large, stained glass windows became much more common in order because of the ability to make one’s living area much more luminous.

Environmental Factors

The environmental factors of this era were a reaction to the academic art, eclecticism and historicism of the 19th century architecture and decoration. The movement was greatly influenced by Japanese woodblock printing, which was imported into Europe in the 1870s. It also marks a transitional period between traditional art and modernism. New forms of media, like art magazines and posters, helped popularize style. Eventually, this artistic period disintegrated with the start of World War One. Finally, During the mid 1880s, electricity was developed and the development and commercial production of electric lighting was underway.

Key Designers

Audrey Beardsley
Gustav Klimt
Alphonse Mucha
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

Iconic Representations

Secession Building, Vienna Austria, 1897



Casa Battlo, Barcelona Spain, 1904