Art Nouveau did not completely reject industrial production and superstitious expensive handicrafts. On the contrary, the design uses glass, cast iron, precast concrete and other new materials of the industrial society in large quantities as a kind of positive response. At the same time, Art Nouveau covers a wider range of fields, including architecture, furniture, textiles, pottery, lamps, jewelry, and even poster advertising.
During the Art Nouveau period, the design inspirations were mostly derived from nature (mainly from plants), rich in decorative curves, with a wide range of materials and common ethnic elements from all over the world. And in different countries and regions, combined with local elements, there are many interesting variants.
Just like there are not only straight lines in the world, but also curved lines. The world is diverse, there are people who like minimalism, and there must be people who like to bring some decorations. Although the modern minimalist style became the mainstream before and after the two wars in the twentieth century, the art, design and construction style with a certain decoration has never withdrawn from the historical stage. These styles still have many names, but in my opinion, the most important representative of them is Art Nouveau.
Many people think that Art Nouveau started in France, in fact, it first originated in Belgium.
Tassel Hotel-Brussels
But it is indeed in France that the Art Nouveau movement is widespread and developed. Among them, there is a soul named Siegfried Bing, who is a famous art dealer. Through his introduction and introduction, Japanese Ukiyo-e was able to enter France and exert an influence on the decorative arts at that time. He collected works of avant-garde artists at that time and held many exhibitions to promote improvement.
In 1895, he invited the architect Billy to design and build the Maison de l'Art Nouveau (Art Nouveau) in Paris, and later generations continued to use the word "Nouveau" as the name of this style and this reform movement.
The Paris World's Fair in 1900 was the pinnacle of Art Nouveau achievement. From April to November of that year, Art Nouveau architecture, furniture, glass and wrought iron ornaments, jewelry, etc. attracted more than 50 million people from all over the world to visit. Walking on the streets of Paris today, it is easy to see such traces.
Art Nouveau at the entrance of the Paris metro
The works of the Art Nouveau period all have three genes:
First, decoration. These works are decorative. what to decorate? Decorate people's daily life. Taking into account the later modern minimalism, although the decoration during the Art Nouveau period was much simpler than before, people at that time still agreed that there should be decoration.
Second, new materials and new processes. These works are more or less positive responses to the Industrial Revolution. The use of a large number of new materials, such as glass, cast iron, concrete, etc., is proof. In other words, on this occasion, the exploration is no longer limited to "retro", but to use modern technology to restore the spirit of tradition.
Third, abundance. Works in the Art Nouveau period are often difficult to identify by reference to a certain feature, because there are too many localized variants with different regions. For this reason, it is loved by many people.
