Art Nouveau Furniture
"Art Nouveau is style of decoration and architecture which developed in the 1880s and 1890s. The name derives from the Maison de l'Art Nouveau, an interior design gallery opened in Paris in 1896, but in fact the movement had different names throughout Europe.
In Germany it was known as 'Jugendstil', from the magazine die Jugend (Youth) published from 1896; in Italy 'Stile Liberty' (Liberty Style, after the London store Liberty & Co.) or 'Stile Fioreale'; in Spain 'Modernista', and in Austria 'Sezessionstil'. In France it was variously called 'Style Jules Verne', 'Le Style Métro' (after Hector Guimard's iron and glass subway entrances), Art Belle Époque, and Art Fin de Siècle. Paradoxically, the English term 'Modern Style' was often used, emphasizing the English origins of the movement." (The Artchive)
"Directly fostered by the Arts and Crafts movement, Art Nouveau flourished between the 1890s and 1910 in all of the arts. Art Nouveau may be characterized as a style derived from organic forms that convey a sense of movement, exemplified by the famous “whiplash” curve found in many Art Nouveau works." (France Era Co.)
"In design Art Nouveau was characterized by writhing plant forms and an opposition to the historicism which had plagued the 19th century. There was a tension implicit throughout the movement between the decorative and the modern which can be seen in the work of individual designers as well as in the chronology of the whole. Its emphasis on decoration and artistic unity links the movement to contemporary Symbolist ideas in art, as seen in the work of the Vienna Secessionists, but the movement was also associated with Arts and Crafts ideas and, as such, Art Nouveau forms a bridge between (William) Morris and (Walter) Gropius." (The Artchive)
 L'Art Nouveau - La Maison Bing
Around 1894, Bing was organizing art salons, workshops and exhibitions for contemporary artists and decorative designers. He followed by showing furniture, art works, paintings and sculptures all in the same exhibition hall: La Maison Bing (the House of Bing).
By 1895, the name of the Gallery was known as L'Art Nouveau - La Maison Bing. Siegfried Bing aimed to enhance and develop in particular the emerging, innovative and modern Art Nouveau style. This new artistic style included fine arts, applied arts and interior decoration and represented the original concept of the "total work of art", harmoniously aiming to the abolition of ranks of value between the different types of arts.
 Henri ven de Velde chair
"In furniture, its early exponents were the Belgian architects Henry van de Velde and Victor Horta, who furnished the interiors of their buildings with pieces designed to complement the sinuous forms of the architectural settings.
 Hector Guimard lamp Louis Majorelle cabinet
"In France, the architect Hector Guimard, creator in 1900 of the graceful Métro (subway) stations in Paris, also designed similarly asymmetrical, heavily carved free-form furniture. The noted glassmaker Émile Gallé also designed some of the most opulent Art Nouveau furniture, in which plant and flower motifs predominate. Louis Majorelle produced luxurious furniture, again inspired by forms from nature, and went on to become a notable Art Deco designer after World War I (1914-1918)." (France Era Co.)
 Victor Horta art nouveau staircase Hector Guimard, Paris Metro entrance
"The Scottish architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh produced, in his unique interpretation of Art Nouveau, chastely beautiful furniture. Characteristic pieces are of oak painted white, with elegant inlays and appurtenances of metal or stained glass in curvilinear, abstracted plant forms." (France Era Co.)
 Charles Mackintosh fireplace
"Art Nouveau was a response to the radical changes caused by the rapid urban growth and technological advances that followed the Industrial Revolution." (National Gallery of Art-US)
"The Art Nouveau style appeared in the early 1880s and was gone by the eve of the First World War. For a brief, brilliant moment, Art Nouveau was a shimmering presence in urban centers throughout Europe and North America. It was the style of the age - seen on public buildings and advertisements, inside private homes and outside street cafés - adorning the life of the city."
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