Marc Schenker
March 31, 2021 · 14 min read
The History of Art Nouveau
This design style had its origins in Britain, with William Morris’ floral designs as well as the Arts and Crafts movement his pupils founded. Morris was a textile designer, and his ideas on design and art, in turn, influenced the later Arts and Crafts aesthetic, which featured traditional and simple forms that touched on the medieval, romantic, and folkish. One of the earliest works of this style was 1859’s Red House of Morris.
- Using only knowledge that was available contemporarily
- Rejecting traditions that were no longer relevant or viable
- Understanding the relationship between function and material
- Viewing each material in the context of its form and ornament

- Graphic design and art
- Porcelain
- Furnishings
- Jewelry
Traits of Art Nouveau Design
Every design movement that has left its mark on history always had distinct qualities that made it stand out from any other style. This new art movement was no different. It’s recognized for its commitment to being forward-looking, which was remarkable for a design style of its day. Instead of taking cues from design movements that had come and gone, it boldly blazed its own path, taking inspiration from elements that were readily available all around it, such as the natural world. You know you’re likely admiring something within this design movement if you see a plethora of lines in a work. Art Nouveau is well-known for using strong lines in its designs, everything from:- Curvy, sinuous and longer, more luxurious lines
- More conservative, linear lines
- The whiplash line (a characteristic curve used by many Art Nouveau designers and artists)
- Lines of vertical height
Architecture
As is the case with so many schools of design, rebellion was involved in Art Nouveau’s sweep through architecture. There was a more eclectic approach to design that dominated Europe in the latter half of the 19th century, but it would be swept aside by Nouveau’s commitment to:- Imbalanced or asymmetrical facades
- The use of polychrome ceramic tiles for ornamentation
- Curving ornamentation that incorporated flower, animal or plant shapes
- Decoration that implied movement, with no distinction between ornament and the building
- The Hotel Tassel
- The Castel Beranger
- The Hotel Solvay

Graphic Design
What really helped this new breed of art flourish in its time was the array of new printing technologies. Specifically, color lithography permitted the mass production of vibrant posters for the first time in history. Color Lithography is a type of printing process in which a flat surface is specially treated to repel the ink except where it’s needed for printing. Naturally, this had the effect of making art available to the masses since it was no longer confined in the elitist centers of culture, such as art galleries, salons, and museums. It proliferated to the point of being readily available on walls, illustrations, and in print magazines, where the average person could enjoy it. In keeping with one of the main Art Nouveau styles, women were a huge subject in these abruptly popular, mass-produced posters, especially women representing glamor and beauty, often surrounded by some flowers. Toward the close of the 19th century, Art Nouveau graphic designers came to prominence. In England, notable among them is Aubrey Beardsley, who created engraved book illustrations and then went on to his claim to fame, producing the illustration for Oscar Wilde’s 1893 tragedy, Salome. Over in France, Eugene Grasset, a Franco-Swiss decorative artist and designer, pioneered the creation of French new art posters. He was involved in decorating Paris’ famous Le Chat Noir cabaret in 1885; then, he went on to produce well-received posters of Sarah Bernhardt in the 1890s, along with various book illustrations.
Glass Art
Glass art is a neat medium, where single pieces of art are made partially or entirely in glass. Art Nouveau design took to glass art rapidly because of the range of experimentation that went on, particularly from French designers and artists. They were searching for unique ways of showing off opacity and transparency. Acid engraving and double layers were just a couple of new techniques used to discover new ways of artistic expression. The French city of Nancy became an especially important center of this design and experimentation. The Daum Studio, led by French ceramist Auguste Daum, teamed with many noteworthy designers of the age, such as Amalric Walter, a French glassmaker. At the studio, they discovered a new technique to encrust glass via pressing fragments of differently colored glass inside the unfinished piece.
Paintings
Art Nouveau produced many memorable paintings by famous artists, though there was some overlap with other design movements such as Symbolism, popular in Austria and France at the time. Various exhibitions were held in Paris that featured new art painters like Maurice Denis, Felix Vallotton, and Pierre Bonnard. Siegried Bing, an art dealer who was a significant player in Art Nouveau spreading, operated an art gallery called Maison de L’Art Nouveau, which showcased paintings by numerous big names in the movement like Paul Signac, Georges Seurat, and Gustav Klimt. It opened in Paris and received considerable fame after 1900’s Exposition Universelle (a world’s fair).
Jewelry
Art Nouveau’s preoccupation with flower and female themes made its expansion into jewelry a no-brainer. As such, the female face and body have found their way onto Art Nouveau-themed jewelry, especially on cameos. Such cameos featured long necklaces made out of sterling silver or pearls and which ended in glass beads or pendants. Diamonds had always enjoyed a lofty position in fine jewelry for a number of centuries, with settings often being created to showcase diamonds. When this new art invaded the jewelry industry, diamonds were demoted to mere supporting players, often helping to showcase other stones like aquamarine, moonstone, garnet opal, and agate.
Interior Design
In its mission to leave no design area untouched, this new style of art had a big impact on interior design as well.
- Flooring – Ensure the floors are parquet, stained and varnished.
- Fireplace – Your fireplace should feature a cast, iron hood with the curved, elegant impression of flowers rising up on either side. While it’s possible to get an original Art Nouveau piece at a salvage yard, you have to be careful not to get scammed. Look for a fireplace whose design naturally rises from the ground upward to help identify the original Art Nouveau piece.
- Colors – Colors are more conservative and toned down, with shades like brown, mustard, olive green, and sage green being popular. These should be paired with choices like blues, violets and lilacs.
- Wallpapers – The highly stylized flower designs that are emblematic of this art style feature heavily in its wallpapers.
- Lighting – It goes without saying that a Tiffany lamp is the best way to illuminate your Art Nouveau interior. Its cornucopia of favrile glass together with metal and bronze inlays are a sight to behold. An original one will cost and arm and a leg, so look into getting yourself a cheaper imitation (just to nail the look indoors).
- Tiles – These can be used in panels. White tiles should be mixed with patterned ones to create a pleasing, visual effect.
- Ornaments – Glass, pewter, and silver cover the range of most popular materials for Art Nouveau ornaments. Think anything from frames and jewelry boxes to clocks.
- Stained glass – Make your home strikingly Art Nouveau by putting stained-glass panels into doors, cabinets, mirrors and other furnishings.
Appreciating the Splendor of Art Nouveau Design
For a design style that lasted a relatively short time, this turn-of-the-century new art made a powerful impact that still lasts to the present day. Whether in graphic design, architecture, painting or even jewelry, Art Nouveau touched a plethora of design and art forms, which is a testament to its creativity and brilliance. Sadly, by the time World War I rolled around in 1914, the design had already all but fallen out of favor. Today, though, designers, artists, and creatives of all shapes and sizes still admire and get inspiration from this intrepid style that made use of the natural world around it while rejecting all sorts of tradition.Products Seen In This Post:

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Marc Schenker
Marc is a copywriter and marketer who runs The Glorious Company, a marketing agency. An expert in business and marketing, he helps businesses and companies of all sizes get the most bang for their ad bucks.
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