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In the 19th century the taste of the people and craftsmen went in a downgoing spiral. Misshapen styles, of neoclassicism through neogotic to even neorococo, were manufactured massively. After the flowering time of the Biedermeier style craftsmen expired to hopeless imitations with cheap material to be able satisfy to the large demand. The idle ostantation of the new bourgeois, who had gathered wealth by the large flowering of the trade and industry, reflected this in their frequently exotic interieurs, which had the lack of creativity. Entirely solitary were the brothers Thonet with their elegant, according to traditional methods, manufactured furniture as an exemple of good taste. Nevertheless peacock feathers, heavy draperies and excessive gilding predominated everywhere. |
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Of course their were movements that responded. First of all in England there was the 'Arts and Crafts' movement under the inspiring control of animators such as Morris, Ruskin and Pugin. ‘Arts and Crafts’ turned itself against the excessive style and mass production, the negligent manufacturing of the product. 'Arts and Crafts' introduced handmade high quality manufacturing of furniture, looked after the whole furnishing of interiors, from tapestries lining to lamps and all this in a homogeneous way, quietly and distinguished. It’s followers held to traditional construction methods. The furniture, although modern and tight of implementation, had the patina of the middle ages. But the 'Arts and Crafts'-ideal to make beautiful, sound and payable objects for the ordinary man, failed pitifully, because the hand work appeared to be too precious. It was though artistic successful, but socially a failure. For good examoles of the ‘Arts and Crafts’ one should visit the 'Victoria and Albert museum' in London. On the European continent everyone admired the 'Arts and Crafts' movement and moreover understood the challenge to create a new artform, again based on inventive creativity and sound skill of craftmanship, which is often a necessity for innovative movements within the visual arts. But the continental direction went beyond to the social element, so that the 'Art Nouveau', was a luxury a precious artform from the early beginning, only payable by a hand-full fans. The term "Art Nouveau" has been borrowed from the shop of the german Samuel Bing. He opened his ‘La Maison the L'Art Nouveau’ in Paris in 1895, where he exhibited his predilection for objects, which later would carry his firmname. The german Jugendstil has been named after the magazine ‘die Jugend’ which started in 1896 in Munich. So there were two clear movements on the continent. On the one hand the asymmetrical, undulating lines in pasteltints, so characterising for the French and Belgian direction, (think for example of the Parisian underground entrances of Hector Guimard or to the architecture of the Belgian Horta), on the other side there was the much tighter, stylised movement of clear colours (for instance the Dutchmen Berlage and the Austrians of the Wiener Werkstätte. |
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Artists drew their inspiration from the Japanese engraving which had another perspective then Europeans were used to. Designs from flora (iris, red poppy, etc.) and fauna (dragonfly, swan, peacock etc.) were much used. Also the woman with long, ondulating hair was often a motif, which clearly can be seen in the work of the Austian Gustave Klimt or the Czech Alphonso Mucha. |
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René Lalique was one of the most famous jewellers and glass artists from Paris. He designed both objects in the 'Art Nouveau ' and in the 'Art Deco' style. He made a lot of furore with his designs of women (for example of the actress Sarah Bernhardt), dragonflies, peacocks and flowers. He worked with diverse materials, and certainly not exclusively with the most precious. He used semi-precious stones and emaille for his splendid jewels. |
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Next to Paris was Nancy with at it’s centre "L'École de Nancy", a group of artists and craftsmen, who combined superior creativity with outstanding skills and took the challenge of experiencing with new techniques. Emile Gallé, specialised in decorated glass and marqueterie, collected a impressive groupe of followers around him and L’Ecole de Nancy. For instance the brothers Antonin and Auguste Daum (glassworkers), Louis Majorelle (furniture designer), and the Muller brothers. There are two names in this summary concerning ' Art Nouveau ' and ' Jugendstil ' who can’t be unmentioned. First ofcourse the American Louis Comfort Tiffany with his leaded art glass and secondly the Spanish architect Antoni Gaudì, who gave Barcelona a whole other look with his marvelous designs. In Vienna the upcoming Wiener Werkstätte with it’s very own form of 'Jugendstil', was so important that this needs a separate chapter. |
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