ART NOUVEAU (1890-1910) Part 1

The Art Nouveau is an international style of art and philosophy which is a direct descendant from the Arts and Crafts Movement. 

Art Nouveau is the French name for “New Art”, however the name used can be very different depending on which country it’s being used. For example, Jugendstil in the German speaking world. Both names where derived from Siegfried Bing’s gallery: Masion de L’Art Nouveau in Paris and the magazine Jugend in Munic. Its style drew inspiration from the organic world and geometric forms; its intent was to find harmony with the natural environment. The organic forms sometimes took on abrupt curvature which was referred to with the term Whiplash.

Some other names used for Art Nouveau were:

MODERN – in Russia

SECESSION – in Hungary and Austria

STILE LIBERTY – in Italy. 

MODERNISME – in Spain.

Round about the same time in which Art Nouveau was making its first appearance, Japan was opening up after many years closed off to the rest of the world. Lots of commerce and artifacts started making their way into Europe and ended up in the hands of the artist of the time times. Most notably the Japanese Ukiyo- e wood block prints. These ended up having a very strong effect on the formulation of the new tendencies. But it was just the Ukiyo-e wood block prints that left a strong impact on the style. We can see influences from the Arts and Crafts movement (which occurred just before), Pre- Raphaelite paintings, the Rococo Style and even a book of Celtic Illustrations by William Blake. Inspiration was also taken from the famous painter, post-impressionist Vincent Van Gogh, Paul Gauguin and the symbolic colour and decorative patterns explored by the Nabis group of young artists. 

la biche au bois Jules Chéret, poster for La biche au bois (The Doe in the Wood), 1866

Chéret's early green and black poster used the multipla images format

so popular in the 1860s. The lettering is a harbinger of the swirlin

forms marking his mature style

Back in Paris, in a transition time lifting censorship restrictions and more freedom for of the press, communication become much more widespread and this gave artists and designers a greater freedom of expression. The streets began being filled with posters and design art. And this gave birth to the legacy of Jules Chéret, acclaiming him as the ‘father of the modern poster’. Chéret moved even further away from old Victorian tendencies by enlarging the main figure and the lettering in the art. 

Elysee Montmanrte Jules Gheret, “Élysee Montmartre Bal Masque” (Masked Ball) Poster, 1896.

Parisian elegance, a carefree grace and astounding technical mastery are present. 

The figures create a lively play of angles linking the top and bottom lettering.

Another designer and illustrator to rival Chéret, was the Swiss born Eugène Grasset. He possessed a very strong background in medieval art with influence his works with a combination of exotic oriental art. Some of his work had a thick black contour locking forms into flat areas of colour in a manner similar to stained medieval glass work.

Eugéne Grasset, exhibition poster, c. 1894.
Quietly demure instead of exuberant, Grasset’s figures
project a resonance very different from that of the Chérette

Eugéne Grasset, chapter title page and text page from Histoire des Quatre Fils Aymon, 1883.
A structural unity of type, image, and ornament is achieved

Moving to other parts of the world, in this case in England, Art Nouveau was the main focus of primarily graphic designers and illustrators rather than for architectural use as in France and other continental cities. It also finds traces of Gothic and Victorian paintings to add to the above mentioned sources. Here we come across the ‘enfant terrible of Art Nouveau’, Aubrey Beardsley with his impeccable pen lines. His work was very exotic with a lot of influence from Japanese prints, even the characters were dressed in that costume. His work was mainly composed of black and white imagery. However unfortunately his working carrier was cut short at the age of twenty-six when he passed away due to tuberculosis, but this didn’t stop his work of flat patterns and dynamic curves from penetrating every European country and America. 

John the Baptizer and Salome. Oscar Wilde's Salaome, 1894. 

"Venus between Terminal Gods" 1895 Drawing with india ink by Aubrey Beardsley. 1895

References: 

Web:

http://www.designishistory.com/1850/art-nouveau/

http://gds.parkland.edu/gds/!lectures/history/1890/artnouveau.html

http://www.theartstory.org/movement-art-nouveau.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_Nouveau

Book:

A History of Graphic Design by Philip B.Meggs (third edition) pages 179 - 189

THE ARTS AND CRAFTS MOVEMENT

Originated in the British Isles in the 1880s, the Arts and Crafts Movement was formed by a small group of English philosophers, artists and architects who became greatly concerned by the effects that industrialization and mass production was having on the level of design, craftsmanship and traditional skills of decorative arts. This movement may be considered perhaps the most significant of modern times and in fact, quickly spread across America and Europe before emerging finally as the  Mingei (Folk Crafts) movement in Japan.

In England, the founders for this movement was theorist and critic John Ruskin (8 February 1819 – 20 January 1900) and the designer, writer and activist William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896). Ruskin studied the relationship between art, society and labour whereas Morris put Ruskin's philosophies into practice, challenging the tastes of the Victorian and the classical architectural ways, whilst also reviving the Gothic Style. The philosophy they promoted were socialism or the ‘utopian’ society, striving for good quality of life for all, including art for the people, by the people. Artists and craftsman were viewed as equals and art would be no longer regarded as greater activity. They believed that they could achieve high-quality design only when one lived in a good society like with better working conditions thus creating an interaction between art and society where one could take pride in his craftsmanship and skill. The desire was for the individuals to revive their craftsmanship producing fine and beautiful objects as opposed to the ordinary or bleak manufactured consumer goods enhancing the lives of ordinary people, and at the same time providing decent employment for the craftsman.

Snakeshead printed cotton designed by William Morris. 1876

However, many a time, these exceptional objects could only be purchased by the very rich hence the idea of ‘art for the people’ was eventually lost with only relatively few craftsman being employed making these fine pieces. 

Amongst other places in the world, by the late 19th century, the Arts and Crafts ideas moved into the United States of America. Gustav Stickley (1858-1942) was the main person who started this movement in the USA. He was a furniture manufacturer and followed most of Morris’ thoughts which he later also incorporated in a magazine he launched called The Craftsman. This magazine presented articles on the theories of the Craftsman Style and included simple Craftsman style house plans and bungalow plans whereby it encouraged people to build their homes and furniture using their own hands and local material. Here we one can see the difference from the English opposition against industrialization because the machine now was not considered an ‘enemy’ but a tool to improve life, to reduce unnecessary hard work and to produce affordable objects and homes which were also useful and ornamental.

Original design for Trellis wallpaper by William Morris, 1862.

Ducal Palace in Venice, together with the Ponte della Paglia. John Ruskin 1845

Fondaco Dei Turchi,-Venice John Ruskin

The Field behind Ruskin's House at Denmark Hill by John Ruskin 1860 - watercolor

ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPTS

‘Manuscript’ originates from the Latin meaning ‘handwritten’. Before printing existed, all books had to be written out by hand which was a time-consuming and labour-intensive process, taking months or even years. Before paper was used the customary material they used for writing was parchment, made from treated animal skins. Some manuscripts were made even more valuable by embellishing them by using bright colours and gold or silver to initial letters or to portray entire scenes or used borders (marginalia) and miniature illustrations thus the term ‘illumination’. This term comes from the Latin word ‘illuminare’ which means to ‘lit up’ where the impression was that the pages had been illuminated. They did this to mark important passages, or to enhance or comment on the meaning of the text.

Folio 4 verso of the Aberdeen Bestiary. The illumination shows the Christ in Majesty.

Illuminated Manuscripts were generally written in ink on parchment or vellum. Vellum was the best quality of parchment and was traditionally made of whole calf skin. The text was first written by a scribe and then the gilding, or the application of gold leaf, formed the first stage in the painting process of illumination by the illuminator. The application of colour was then added following a planned design. Illustration of books was functional as well as decorative. Illuminated initials and painted miniatures marked the beginnings of important sections in the text and allowed readers to navigate the book. In these illuminated manuscripts, words and images worked together to inform the medieval reader and occasionally these readers left their own mark making them highly interactive. Nearly all medieval manuscripts provide ample space in the margins for readers' notes and comments. In this way, illuminated manuscripts are different from other types of media in that they provided spaces for readers to record their reactions to image and text.

Heures de Maréchal de Boucicaut (Stundenbuch), Szene: Dame während der Messe 1410-1415

These ‘illuminated manuscripts’ date back from the 5th century, though it was not until about 1100 that the production of manuscripts began to increase especially when new monasteries were founded as most of these manuscripts were done for the religious institutions as early in the 12th Century. Two hundred years after the death of Christ, Christian art and religious iconography began, where the earliest surviving illuminated manuscript is dated 400AD. These manuscripts are divided into different periods including the Byzantine, Romanesque, Gothic and Renaissance periods.

These Illuminators were usually modest craftsmen who ‘belonged’ to either the painter’s guild or another guild involved in the book trade. Most of these artists’ work remained anonymous and only after the late Middle Ages they had started to sign their art by small illustrative representations of themselves.

Due to the extensive time and expense to create these books, only wealthy customers could afford such work of art. Thus, with the advent of book printing on paper in the late Middle Ages, this “golden age” of manuscript illumination gradually disappeared in the course of the sixteenth century. Handmade books increasingly gave way to printed editions with the advent of moveable type from the 1450s, although manuscripts continued to be produced, particularly for wealthy patrons.

Tyniec Sacramentary: Initial "V"

References:
http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/medieval-manuscripts.html
http://www.bl.uk/catalogues/illuminatedmanuscripts/TourIntro5.asp
http://www.illuminatedpage.com/history.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illuminated_manuscript