Art Nouveau

Art Nouveau
   Art nouveau began as a decorative art movement in the 1880s, in reaction against the historical emphasis of mid-19th-century art. The innovative style appeared in architecture as well as the decorative arts, including furniture, jewelry, and book design and illustration. Characterized by a lavish ornamental and asymmetrical style, art nouveau featured a distinctive whiplike linearity, evocative of intertwining plant tendrils.
   In Brussels, the groundwork for the rise of art nouveau consisted of a conjunction of factors that included the development of new building materials, notably cast iron, which permitted architects to create structures in any shape desired, the vogue for Oriental imagery, and the growth of urban development, which saw suburbanization mushroom in eastern districts from 1860 to 1910. Architects and designers searched for a new style that would appeal to newly wealthy middle classes while the birth of the labor movement and its call for radical reforms engendered an atmosphere of rebellious dissent. Architectural competitions and several highly active art forums, notably Les XX and La Libre Esthétique, stimulated creative inventiveness.
   In 1893, Victor Horta designed a house for Émile Tassel, an engineer and professor. Featuring flowing shapes in ironwork, carved stone, and stained-glass windows, the Hôtel Tassel garnered much attention, both positive and negative. It launched art nouveau in Brussels, which would dominate trend-setting design until the end of the first decade of the 20th century. Defined in 1894 as un art nouveau ("a new art") by Henri van de Velde, the style also claimed architects Paul Hankar, Paul Cauchie, and Paul Hamesse, among others. Approximately 1,500 buildings were constructed in art nouveau style between 1893 and 1910. Many were later demolished or have decayed beyond repair. Still, a total of some 1,000 buildings remain scattered throughout the metropolitan area, primarily east and south of the city center.

Historical Dictionary of Brussels. .

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Art Nouveau — Vase Daum (Nancy) vers 1900 L Art nouveau est un mouvement artistique de la fin du XIXe et du début du XXe siècle, également appelé selon les pays : Tiffany (d après Louis Comfort Tiffany aux …   Wikipédia en Français

  • ART NOUVEAU —    Art Nouveau, translated simply as the New Art, originated in Belgium and then France in the 1880s as highly stylized and ornate, with floral shapes and patterns applied to buildings that feature curved walls and other organic forms. Recalling… …   Historical Dictionary of Architecture

  • Art Nouveau — UK / US or Art Nouveau UK [ˌɑː(r)t nuːˈvəʊ] / UK [ˌɑː(r) nuːˈvəʊ] / US [ˌɑrt nuˈvoʊ] / US [ˌɑr nuˈvoʊ] noun [uncountable] art a style of art, decoration, and architecture that uses curved patterns of leaves, flowers, and other natural objects,… …   English dictionary

  • art nouveau — UK / US or Art Nouveau UK [ˌɑː(r)t nuːˈvəʊ] / UK [ˌɑː(r) nuːˈvəʊ] / US [ˌɑrt nuˈvoʊ] / US [ˌɑr nuˈvoʊ] noun [uncountable] art a style of art, decoration, and architecture that uses curved patterns of leaves, flowers, and other natural objects,… …   English dictionary

  • art nouveau — (fr.; pronunc. [árt nubó]) m. Nombre del movimiento artístico modernista en Francia. * * * ► BELLAS ARTES Nombre que recibe el modernismo en Francia, tomado de la razón social de una tienda abierta en París en 1896. Tuvo particular importancia y… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • art nouveau — art nou·veau loc.s.f.inv. ES fr. {{wmetafile0}} TS arte tendenza artistica diffusa in tutta Europa tra la fine dell Ottocento e i primi anni del Novecento, caratterizzata da forme stilizzate di notevole eleganza decorativa; anche loc.agg.inv.:… …   Dizionario italiano

  • Art nouveau — Art nou|veau 〈[a:r nuvo:] f.; ; unz.; in England u. Frankreich Bez. für〉 Jugendstil [frz., „neue Kunst“] * * * Art nou|veau [arnu vo: ], der u. das; [frz. = neue Kunst; urspr. Name einer 1895 in Paris gegründeten Galerie]: Bez. für: Jugendstil… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • art nouveau — ► NOUN ▪ a style of decorative art and architecture prominent in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, characterized by intricate linear designs and flowing curves. ORIGIN French, new art …   English terms dictionary

  • art nouveau — [ärt΄no͞o vō′, är΄no͞o vō′; ] Fr [ ȧrno͞o vō′] n. [Fr, from the name of an art gallery ( c. 1895) carrying examples of the work] [also A N ] a movement in arts and crafts of the late 19th and early 20th cent., characterized by curvilinear designs …   English World dictionary

  • Art nouveau — Art nou|veau [arnu vo] der; <aus fr. art nouveau »neue Kunst«> Bez. für den Jugendstil in Großbritannien, den USA u. Frankreich …   Das große Fremdwörterbuch

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”