Art Nouveau

After the arts and crafts time period, people wanted to change up the design and get out of the traditional furniture design, but still use the simplicity of arts and crafts.  Art Nouveau was a time period that began in Belgium and France and flourished through most of Europe, especially Spain.  The style tries to flow with nature including decorative ornamentation and opposes the Victorian style.  During the arts and crafts movement, everything was hand made and there was the avoidance of assembly lines and mass production through machines, however during the Art Nouveau, people began using modern techniques again.    The appeal is very "Artsy" with curves and interesting twists.  In France, subway systems entrances example the basic concept from this design period.  There are flowers and vines that are wrapped around the sign and has a very nature feel.

Some of some major artists and designers from this time period include Victor Horta, Henry Van de Velde, and Antoni Gaudi. Victor Horta had very interesting designs to me because he never failed to use unique iron railings and stenciled walls and ceilings. The Tassle House is one of the most famous places that he designed.  

 

In Spain, Antoni Gaudi used his skills in decorative detail and ornamentation and designed one of the most beautiful places from this time period, Casa Batllo.

 

This building looks like a fairy tale dream and the roof looks like the scaled of a dragon.  This building, in my opinion, really examples the Art Nouveau style aka New art.

Some major furniture from this time period include the kessler diplomat chair and the chaises choir.

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A great and brief description of the allure of Art Nouveau:  

I read Nichole's and Allison's blogs.  Nichole's blog had a lot of great description and detail of each major designers from each area.  She had a lot of pictures showing what she liked from the time period and had a great video that I watched and actually found very helpful.

Allison's blog was really well written and interesting how she talked about Hector Guinard.  He was one of the most influencing people from this time period.  I also liked how she showed a picture of a modern day bathroom with Art Nouveau design embedded.

arts and crafts movement

The arts and crafts movement was the return/ revival of the traditional artistic craftmanship. Started in England and moved its way to the U.S.  This time period put emphasis on bringing back the man into man-made instead of mass production.  The designs of furniture from this time period were simple, honest, and brings harmony together with nature.  William Morris was known as the English arts and crafts movement, had great skill in craftsmanship. Instead of using a production/assembly line one person would create a piece and mass produce that piece themselves.  He believed that architecture and interiors should be simple, functional, and materials should be local. His designs usually involved using oak and while the pieces had simple lines and elegance, they also carried some dramatic features such as tall backs.

Some examples of furniture from this time period include:

Argyle chair

Reclining chair

examples of furniture from this time period in present day:  

        

Arts and Crafts Movement: http://youtu.be/tYjNO2Y4m6c

Arts and Crafts: Design in a Nutshell (2/6): http://youtu.be/CBq73yxha0o

I reviewed Emily N's and Rose's blogs.  Emilys blog had a great overall description the time period and gave great examples of furniture. I also liked how she brought up the specific patterns from the time period. 

Roses blog is also a great example of the designs from this time period. I love how she emphasized the linearness in the designs but they also contain a dramatic feature.