The Natural Beauty of Art Nouveau Architecture
What is Art Nouveau?
Art Nouveau (”new art”) was a design movement that started in the mid-1880s as a reaction against the plainness of the Arts and Crafts movement.
image on left found at:
(http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc102/19thcentury/victorhortastaircase.jpg)
The style of Art Nouveau is visually portrayed with natural, organic elements with feminine qualities in its designs. It is greatly characterized by softness and fluidity, its distinct feature being the beautifully fluid lines, often described as having a whiplash motif. It is an extensively decorative style of art creating new forms through natural lines, lines you may find more often in nature. It is common to see flowers and plants stylized into an art nouveau motif in decorative pieces and jewelry. Cast iron was a common material used in art nouveau architectural and interior design.
My inspiration:
Victor Horta’s Designs of Hotel Tassel in Brussels, Belgium.
(http://media.photobucket.com/image/Tassel%20Hotel%20Entrance/19thcentury/hortatasselhotel.jpg)
Tassel Hotel Entrance
Designed by Victor Horta
Horta was born in 1861 in Ghent (Belgium) and started his career as an interior designer in Montmartre, Paris. His design for the Hotel Tassel in 1893 is generally seen as the start of the Art Nouveau.
Click on the link below to check out the images of the former house and museum of Horta in Brussels, Belgium.
http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/belgium/brussels/hortahouse/horta.html
What types of decorative details make this house a representation of Art Nouveau?
Check out this picture tour for more examples
***Below is another interior design example of Art Nouveau
(http://www.amberbelinda.com/images/radison1.gif)
Amber Shop
Radisson SAS Daugava Hotel
On the Grand Scale we have:
(http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/8117/img0066sizedlf2.jpg)
Church of the Sagrada Familia is a noted Art Nouveau piece.
Antonio Gaudi designed this structure
Today in America it is not very common to see many examples of the architectural style of Art Nouveau. That may be in part of its overdone, fancy-feel which is not aesthetically pleasing for most people. I find it very unique in a beautiful, natural way.
However examples still exist in many homes across America today, for instance, the highly popular artworks by Louis Comfort Tiffany. His workshop, Tiffany Studio, created today’s popular the series of stained glass lamps.
(http://blog.pennlive.com/thrive/2007/10/17.%20Dragonfly%20Library%20Lamp.jpg)
More Tiffany Lamps
Answer the below questions for a class discussion:
1. Where have you seen examples of the art nouveau style besides in the architecture examples above?
2. Is this particular art style popular in today's architecture? Explain your answer.
3. In today's world do you notice more focus on practical designs in architecture where function is more dominant then form? Why is this so? Which do you prefer?
Final Activity: Draw and design a stained glass door for the Horta house in Brussels, Belgium. It must be designed with the elements and style of Art Nouveau. What are some key visual elements that distinguish this Art Style? After you have completed your design explain in one paragraph how your design is a successful example of art nouveau architecture describing the motifs and images you choose.
Suggested materials: Paper, pencil, rulers, French curve templates, photographs from nature as references, pen and ink, colored pencils if you choose to add color to your designs.
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