What Impacted the Art Nouveau Movement and How Did it Influence Design? By Shay Klassen
Art nouveau was a movement in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s that encouraged the use of flowing line, bold colour and incorporating the female form. Although the movement was short in comparison to other design eras, the impact art nouveau has had on design should not be ignored. Taking place in Japan, the art nouveau era traveled across the world, reaching all over Western Europe and America in the 19th century, and continues to be used today in the 20th century. With a firm mark in history, art nouveau shaped the techniques, process and use of simplified form to influence artists such as Alphonse Mucha and Eugène Grasset in the 19th century, and Milton Glaser in the 20th century. Although Japanese culture was the original influence to art nouveau, the movement also impacted the art of its day and continues to carry influence into modern day design.
The beginning of the art nouveau movement started in 1603-1867 with “Ukiyo-e”, meaning “pictures of the floating world”, a very popular form of art in Japan. It was the result of Japanese culture pushing back against European expansion and the Christian culture invasion. In the 1630’s, Japanese military leader, “the shogun”, issued multiple laws, turning away people from other countries, and encouraging Japanese solitude. This, in turn, brought about the experimentation of traditional art in Japan. Artists began to flourish in decorative arts and woodblock prints. Early points of reference consisted of scantily-clad women, prostitutes and sexually- explicit art, but later advanced to images of urban life and nature (Figure 1). Artists such as Katsushika Hokusai and Ando Hiroshige embraced this, leading to the mastering of multi-coloured prints and experimentation with composition. Unfortunately, this sacred Japanese experimentation only lasted until 1853. At this time, Matthew C. Perry, a commodore from America, toured his ships around the coast of Japan leading to the destruction of the cultural seclusion of the country. “A mid-nineteenth-century revolution overthrew the last shogun in 1867 and restored supreme power to the Meiji emperor the following year. Japan’s leaders began building a modern nation with economic and military similarities to Western nations.” (Meggs, 2012). Figure 1 – Ando Hiroshige, Evening This resulted in ukiyo-e art being seen by Western cultures for the first Squall at Great Bridge near Atake, time. The art had such a heavy influence, the term “Japonisme” was coined, 1856-1859 which meant a Western obsession for anything Japanese. As Japanese rarities in art and culture began to invade Europe, the evolution towards “Art Nouveau” began. [1]
The term “new art” or art nouveau, originated in Paris in 1895. Samuel Bing, an art collector from France, opened a gallery in Paris dawning the name “Salon de l’Art Nouveau” meaning “room of new art”. Over time, the gallery developed into a gathering place for artists around the world and is still open today, with the new name “Maison de l’Art Nouveau”, meaning the “house of new art”. The period of art nouveau in Europe was between 1890 and 1910, falling just before the turn of the century, and coming after the Victorian era of graphic design. Art nouveau was the solution to the scattered subjects that encapsulated Victorian design. It took inspiration from “the long sensitive curve, reminiscent of the lily’s stem, an insect’s feeler, the filament of a blossom or occasionally a slender flame, the curve undulating, flowing and interplaying with others, sprouting from corners and covering asymmetrically all available surfaces.” (Pevsner, Figure 2 – Eugène Grasset, 2005). Artists such as Eugène Grasset embraced such techniques. With thick, exhibition poster, Grafton Galleries, stylized lines, Grasset drew heavy inspiration from Ukiyo-e woodblock prints 1893 (Figure 2), using “flat cloud patterns” (Meggs, 2012) throughout his work. Alphonse Mucha, another pivotal artist contributing to art nouveau, dominated his works with the female form and the use of foliage. Mucha was very inspired by the Japanese dream world of Ukiyo-e style art. The women featured in his posters were exotic and unworldly. His line work in the women’s hair was stylized and almost “noodle-like” (Meggs, 2012), much like the later artist Peter Behrens, who drew inspiration from Mucha. The Kiss, 1898 by Behrens was a controversial piece portraying two women kissing with their hair entangled together. Following a similar style to Mucha, Behrens’ over stylized lines, shapes and general flow of the piece labelled him a true art nouveau artist. Behrens was one of the last popular artists of art nouveau before the movement was lost in the tragedies of the First World War. “Art nouveau’s legacy is a tracery of the dreams and lifestyles of a brief Indian summer in the human saga. Its offspring were twentieth-century designers who adopted not its surface appearance, but its attitudes toward materials, processes, and value.” (Megg’s 2012). [2]
The impact art nouveau has had on designers in the 20th century is subtle but influential. Milton Glaser, designer of the I Heart New York logo and famous Bob Dylan Greatest Hits Poster, 1966 (Figure 3), credits art nouveau for his inspiration. Talking about the “Dylan” poster, Glaser says: “I was interested in art nouveau at the time. That was an influence for the colors and shapes in the picture. Just enough is more.” (Edwards, 2010). Glaser used bold, blocked-in colours and flowing lines to provide a “colouring-book” style image, very typical of art nouveau design in the 19th century. This is noteworthy of Glaser, because it inspires designers of the new century to look to the past for influence. This can be seen in the use of the female form today in advertising. Derived from the early subject matter of ukiyo-e and art Figure 3 – Milton Glaser, poster, Bob nouveau, the female form in advertising today Dylan Greatest Hits: LP, uses curved lines, airbrushed colour, and 1966 sensual poses to market virtually anything. In 2007, Sophie Monk (Figure 4), an actress/singer from Australia, posed sexually on a
Figure 4 – Sophie Monk, poster, bed of red peppers to promote a vegetarian lifestyle for the organization PETA. PETA: Go Vegetarian Campaign, The sensual pose, flowing hair, and bold colours within this advertisement, can 2007 almost directly be traced back to art nouveau’s influence in the 19th century. With countless representations in advertising, and examples in fine art, art nouveau, although subtle, has had a direct effect on the images that are seen today.
Having once been impacted itself by Japanese culture and ukiyo-e, art nouveau grew into a worldwide fine art movement in the 19th century and continues to influence 20th century advertising and design. Art nouveau’s use of curved line, natural elements and general flow left a strong visual impact that transcended into future art movements. This is shown in the work of design icon Milton Glaser, giving credit to art nouveau for inspiring the “Dylan” poster, one of the highest circulating posters of all time. The impact of art nouveau on design has been significant, and will continue to live on in the history and future of art culture.
Bibliography:
Direct Quote
1. Meggs, Philip B. (2012). Megg’s History of Graphic Design. New York: John Wiley. 2. Pevsner, Nikolaus. (2005). Pioneers of the Modern Design: from William Morris to Walter Gropius. New Haven and London: Yale University. 3. Edwards, Owen. (2010) Sign of the Times: Bob Dylan, Smithsonian Magazine. Washington, D.C.: Melissa Wiley.
Paraphrase
[1] Meggs, Philip B. (2012). Megg’s History of Graphic Design. New York: John Wiley.
[2] Meggs, Philip B. (2012). Megg’s History of Graphic Design. New York: John Wiley.
Figure
Figure 1: http://cheznamastenancy.blogspot.ca/2010/10/rainy-day-in-san-francisco-and-rain-in.html
Figure 2: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eug%C3%A8ne_Grasset
Figure 3: http://nestmoderndesignculture.com/2014/09/22/milton-glaser/
Figure 4: http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/movies/sophie-monk-strips-off/story-e6frfmvr-1111114695893