Art Nouveau: Jewels and Jewelers
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ART NOUVEAU: JEWELS AND JEWELERS By Elise B. Misiorowski and Dona M. Dirlam The Art Nouveau movement, with its rom the mid-19th century to the beginning of the First startling concepts in design, swept FWorld War, an enormous surge of creative energy through Europe and the United States in expressed itself in virtually every aspect of Western the late 19th and early 20th centuries. culture. There were advances in technology and science, The asymmetrical whiplash line which and revolutionary expressions in fine art, music, literature, typifies Art Nouvem was manifested in and the applied arts. In this expansive cultural climate, a art, architecture, metalwork, textiles, and interior design. Perhaps its most style was developed that was as unique as it was short- concentrated and refined expression can lived. Art Nouveau, as the movement has come to be be seen in the spectacular Art Nouveau known overall, grew out of several factors. Technological jewels, which incorporated more unusual advances, brought about by the industrial revolution, gems and gem materials such as improved communications internationally through travel moonstones, horn, ivory, opal, turquoise, and commerce. Exhibitions of exotic arts and artifacts and tourmalines into a host of fanciful exposed the artists of the day to stimulating new concepts designs. This article discusses the origins in design and use of materials. These new ideas then added of Art Nouveau and outlines the impetus to an artistic revolt against the dehumanizing distinctive interpretations and influences that were also by-products of the industrial contributions made by significant Art revolution. Nouveau jewelers. This new form of expression was manifested differ- ently and given different names in each country, but all were variations of the new art. An early version was called Arts and Crafts, or Liberty Style, in England and later in the U.S. In France it was called Art Nouveau or Fin de Sikcle. It was known as Jugendstil in Germany, Secessionstil in -- -- Austria, Palingstil in Belgium, and Modernism0 in Spain. ABOUT THE AUTHORS Although nearly every country in Western culture mani- Ms. Misiorowski and Ms. Dirlam are research librarians at the Gemological Institute of America, fested this new art in some way, not all of them made Santa Monica, California. significant contributions to jewelry design. For example, Acknowledgments: The authors would like to Italy was so involved in producing replicas of classic jewels thank the following people for their invaluable that its artisans produced little if any new-art jewelry, assistance in obtaining illustrations for the article: Stile Lib- Vivienne Becker, Robert Crowningshield, Francois although they acknowledged the movement as Curie/, Tam Curry, Mary Edgerton, Ralph erty Yet jewelers in England, France, Germany, and the Esmerian, Fritz Falk, Rita Goodman, John Jesse, United States played major roles in different developmen- Cheryl Kinion, Irina Laski, Eunice Miles, Lilljan tal stages of the Art Nouveau style. Using more unusual Nassau, Ira Simon, and Harold and Erica Van Pelt. Ruth Patchick was especially helpful in typing gemstones and materials than their predecessors in the the manuscript. Victorian era or their counterparts in the Edwardian style, @ 1987 Gemological Institute of America the Art Nouveau designers created pieces that are as ex- Art Nouveau GEMS & GEMOLOGY Winter 1986 209 citing and fascinating today as they were when the tury. Art Nouveau became a metaphor for the movement first started more than 100 years ago. metamorphosis of the times, translating the myr- iad influences into a unique form of art that THE ELEMENTS OF ART NOUVEAU expressed itself in architecture, fabrics, furniture, Origins of the Movement. Many factors influenced wall coverings, and perhaps most pervasively, in the development of Art Nouveau. Of great impor- jewelry. tance was the desire to break loose from the heavy, ornate, almost repressive styles that held sway Art Nouveau Motifs. Among the many recurring during the Victorian period. Innovations in metal images found in Art Nouveau jewelry, the most technology during the industrial revolution fur- widely recognized motif is that of a naked or thered this rigidity of style by enabling the mass- partially clothed woman surrounded by her loose production of machine-made pieces. In the middle flowing hair, often depicted swimming or in flight, of the 19th century, however, it became fashionable symbolically demonstrating her freedom (figure 1). to wear jewelry patterned after ancient Greek, Nature, associated with fertility and femininity, is Roman, and Etruscan pieces discovered during the unselfconsciqusly sensual. This eroticism is ap- burgeoning of archeology. This historicism gave parent in the sinuous interpretation of nature in rise to a romantic revival which saw artists turn the Art Nouveau line, which expressed movement, away from industry and draw their inspiration passion, vitality, and the youthful vigor of new directly from nature. In France, interest in the ideas. Often called the "whiplash line," it repre- elaborate curved forms of rococo was gradually sents the common element found in virtually revived, as a similar revival of interest in the every Art Nouveau design and provided the stim- design elements of Gothic and Celtic art was seen ulus for some of the descriptive names for Art in the British Isles. With these revivals came a Nouveau such as Palingstil, which means "eel spiritual yearning for the craft guilds of the Middle style." Ages. Societies, formed to promote the decorative Winged creatures of many kinds were also arts, sponsored exhibits and competitions that common in Art Nouveau jewelry. The peacock in acted as further stimuli. particular is frequently seen, as are swans, swal- Perhaps the single most important influence lows, roosters, owls, and bats. Insects such as the on the development of Art Nouveau design, how- dragonfly and butterfly were special favorites be- ever, was the resumption of trade with Japan in cause enamelists could skillfully represent the 1854. The exhibits of Japanese art held in the 1860s gauzy transparency of wings in a startlingly realis- had a tremendous impact on European artists. tic manner (figure 2). Scarabs, with their mystical When Siegfried Bing (1838-1905) opened a Japa- connection to Egyptian lore, were also common nese import shop in Paris in 1871, he further subjects, as were grasshoppers, bees, and wasps. exposed the Parisian artworld to Japanese concepts Snakes, which were often used in Victorian jewels of design (Weisberg, 1986).The simplicity of Japa- as stiff symbols of eternal love, acquired sinister nese art and the economy of line shown in their new life and movement in Art Nouveau (figure 3). interpretation of nature was an immediate inspira- The chameleon and lizard were also represented, tion to the Western world. Curve of human form, as were fish, seahorses, and other sea creatures. A flow of movement, balanced asymmetry, subtle "fascination with the shocking and nightmarish, use of color and shading were aspects of Japanese art that surprised Europe and greatly influenced the manner in which artists viewed and inter- Figure 1. Partially clad female figures are one of preted life forms. the most common motifs in Art Nouveau jewelry, Numerous exhibitions in Europe and the as illustrated by these two pendants and brooch United States displayed artwork and artifacts from designed by Spanish jeweler Luis Masriera. The materials used-cast and enameled gold with many other countries as well, exposing artists to opals, sapphires, pearls, and plique-a-jour Indian, Arabic, Persian, and Oriental cultures. enamel-are also typically Art Nouveau. These Exotic species of plants, such as the tiger lily, pieces are recent remakes from the original mold. wisteria, chrysanthemum, bleeding heart, and or- The winged piece is 6.0 x 6.5 cm long. Courtesy chid, often represented in Art Nouveau jewelry, of Rita Goodman, Peacock Alley Collection. Photo were first introduced to Europe in the 19th cen- 0 Harold a) Erica Van Pelt. 210 Art Nouveau GEMS & GEMOLOGY Winter 1986 -. A'".- . *;^i.lIn. >'^ A(^ i""^ -. 3'5. ,e . ^..^ --- extensive use of enamels. This period experienced a renewed interest in enameling, possibly a conse- quence of the influx of Japanese artifacts which introduced new or forgotten techniques to the West. A variety of enameling techniques came into vogue, including cloisonnk, champleve, plique-h- jour, and pate-de-verre. Cloisonnk enamel is made by forming small cells, or cloisons, with wire on a metal backing and filling them with separate colors of enamel. Champleve enamel involves hollowing out small areas of metal and filling them with enamel. Plique-A-jour is a difficult technique that produces a stained-glass-window effect. Gold chambers backed with thin copper sheets are filled with transparent enamels. After firing, the copper backing is dissolved in an acid bath, leaving the enamel with the transparency of a pane of glass. Pate-de-verre, the ancient Egyptian technique of melting ground glass and molding it into complex shapes, was reintroduced and often used in place of gem materials. The combination of inexpensive materials and with Figure 2. This dragonfly brooch a woman's expensive gems is typically Art Nouveau. There face carved in ivory shows one of the fanciful forms that Art Nonveau jewelry often takes. Of was extensive use of horn and ivory, both of which gold, ivory, plique-a-jouz enamel, diamonds, could be stained soft colors and polished to give and demantoid garnets, this piece (9 x 8.5 cm) them a bloom and sheen. Metals also were given is a recent remake from an original mold by colored patinas to work within the theme of a Luis Masriera. Courtesy of Rita Goodman, piece. Gemstones usually were incorporated into Peacock Alley Collection. Photo 0 Harold d the work as accents and complements to the design Erica Van Pelt. rather than as the central focus.