Art NOUVEAU: most outstanding artists and works

One of the great yearnings behind Art Nouveau is the desire to abandon the historical styles of the 19th century and elevate the category of crafts such as furniture design and blacksmithing. Art Nouveau, also known as modernist art or modernismIt was a decorative and artistic movement that had its moment of growth and development between 1890 and 1914. An original style that had its most notorious works and artists in the field of architecture and applied arts.

In this lesson from unPROFESOR.com we offer you a tour of the best artists and works of Art Nouveau. Discover them with us!

Index

1. Characteristics of Art Nouveau
2. Arthur Heygate Mackmurdo, one of the Art Nouveau artists
3. Victor Horta (1861-1947)
4. Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864 -1901)
5. Aubrey Beardsley (1872-1898)
6. Héctor Guimard (1867 –1942)
7. Gustav Klimt (1862-1918)
8. Antoni Gaudí (1852-1926)

Between the characteristics of Art Nouveau Most notable are:

• Art Nouveau
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  is inspired by the forms of Nature, especially in the geometric shapes and lines of plants, rocks, bones, shells... Nature and the observation of it serve as inspiration to artists.
• The non-existence of the straight line in Nature leads modernist artists to reclaim sinuous, asymmetrical and undulating lines, in addition to adding lightness and dynamism.
• It is also a eclectic art that is inspired by different aesthetic trends such as Hindu art, Japanese, among others.
• An inspiration that also denotes a taste for exoticism, luxury and elegance.
• This taste was reflected in the proliferation of ornamental and decorative elements.
• In addition to this taste for other artistic movements, Art Nouveau also introduced ttechnical and industrial materials.
• They poured into the gap reduction existing between the fine arts and the applied arts.

The list of artists and works of Art Nouveau is long, with many architects, painters, illustrators, watercolors, jewelers and glassmakers who were part of this movement. Among the most representative Art Nouveau artists we find Arthur Heygate Mackmurdo (1851-1942).

Arthur Heygate Mackmurdo was an English architect and industrial designer who influenced the movement Arts and crafts, contemporary British Art Nouveau movement. One of the most influential and recognized works of him is the Cover design for the Baroque Churches of London by Sir Christopher Wren (1883).

This work is a high-quality handcrafted woodcut that serves as the basis for printing the cover of Wren's book. An engraving in which Mackmurdo recreates naturalistic and abstract forms using the characteristic curved forms typical of modernism. The cover is adorned with vegetal and floral images that decorate and provide movement and print energy to the whole.

East Belgian architect he was one of the great promoters modernism in the field of architecture, being an artist of the most versatile when carrying out numerous projects among which the House Hotel Tassel.

This construction was carried out between the years 1892 and 1893 in Brussels, Belgium. A single-family home in which Horta used materials such as ceramics, wood, glass, iron or stone. The work became one of the first constructions to capture and materialize the principles of Modernism.

Toulouse-Lautrec became one of the top graphic artists of Art Nouveau by turning the billboard into a work of art. An innovative artist who has in La Goulue at the Moulin Rouge (1891) one of the most recognizable posters of him.

La Goule offers us the Iconic image of the French can-can dancer. An image that is recreated with just a few simple lines that manage to offer a sense of movement and rhythm. The image is filled with spot colors in the style of Japanese paintings. The red letters in the cabaret's name also evoke the energy and performances of the Moulin Rouge dancers.

Aubrey Beardsley is another of the most prominent Art Noveau artists. An English painter and illustrator who has in his artistic production an illustration that exemplifies the basic characteristics of Art Nouveau, The peacock skirt (1894).

This work is an illustration made for the play Salomé by Oscar Wilde. In his design, Aubrey uses the line abstracting the figures to produce sinuous curves, the influence of Japanese engravings being well-known.

This French architect is one of the main representatives of Art Nouveau in France. He is entrusted with the design of the iconic Paris metro station tickets. The subway entrances are inspired by organic shapes, the initial idea being that they were in a single piece.

However, in the end they ended up being built in several pieces of cast iron. A complex design that served to bring Art Nouveau designs to a mass audience who saw this style as a luxury.

Gustav Klimt he was an Austrian symbolist artist, in addition to becoming one of the representatives of Art Nouveau and Modernism for the luxury and voluptuousness of his works.

One of the most characteristic hallmarks of him was the use of gold leaf and bright tones, in addition to introducing dreamy and glamorous women as protagonists, in addition to, as is the case with Hope II (1907-1908), turn them into allegories.

Antoni Gaudí is the most outstanding architect of the Catalan modernism, being known for his originals and inspired by nature. Although one of his best known works is the Sagrada Familia of Barcelona, unfinished, the Park Güell (1900-1914) it is very representative of Modernism and Art Nouveau.

This park is integrated into the landscape that is noted for its sloping columns, apparently roughly dug into the slopes and introducing nature by covering them with vines. One of its most striking and iconic features are the winding benches decorated with small fragments of ceramic tiles, a distinctive sign of Catalan craftsmanship. The wavy shapes, arches, mosaics They are all typical of Catalan Art Nouveau, in which teams of specialized artisans participate.

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• VVAA, (2011) Art Nouveau, Scala Group
• VVAA (2010) Art Nouveau: Visual Encyclopedia, Scala Group