Art Nouveau In Modern Art

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Art Nouveau was an innovative international style of modern art that became fashionable from about 1890 to the First World War. Arising as a reaction to 19th-century designs dominated by historicism in general and neoclassicism in particular, it promulgated the idea of art and design as part of everyday life. Henceforth artists should not overlook any everyday object, no matter how functional it might be. This aesthetic was considered to be quite revolutionary and new, hence its name - New Art - or Art Nouveau. Hence also the fact that it was applied to a host of different forms including architecture, fine art, applied art, and decorative art.(Sembach, 2002) Rooted partly in the Industrial Revolution, and the Arts and Crafts Movement, but …show more content…

There is no single definition or meaning of Art Nouveau. But the following are distinguishing factors. Art Nouveau philosophy was in favour of applying artistic designs to everyday objects, in order to make beautiful things available to everyone. No object was too utilitarian to be "beautified". Art Nouveau saw no separation in principle between fine art (painting and sculpture) and applied or decorative arts (ceramics, furniture, and other practical objects). In content, the style was a reaction to a world of art which was dominated by the precise geometry of neoclassical forms. (“art nouveau.pdf,” n.d.) It sought a new graphic design language, as far away as possible from the historical and classical models employed by the arts academies. Art Nouveau remains something of an umbrella term which embraces a variety of stylistic interpretations: some artists used new low-cost materials and mass production methods while others used more expensive materials and valued high

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