Art Nouveau: A Brief but Influential Style

Art Nouveau emerged in the 1880s and lasted until World War I, spreading across industrialized Western Europe and America. The term first appeared in the Belgian journal L'Art Moderne to describe the work of Les Vingt, a group of twenty painters and sculptors influenced by William Morris and the Arts and Crafts movement. They sought to unify fine and decorative arts, creating a Gesamtkunstwerk. In France, it was known as Style Jules Verne, Le Style Métro, Art belle époque, and Art fin de siècle, showcased at the 1900 Exposition Universelle. In Belgium, it was called Style nouille or Style coup de fouet; in Germany, Jugendstil; in Barcelona, it was part of Modernisme, with Antoni Gaudí designing La Sagrada Familia, Park Güell, Casa Batlló, and Casa Milà. Characteristics include nature-inspired motifs, Japanese art influence, curvy arabesques, and integration of decoration with functionality. The movement aimed to combine art and craft, but remained elite, with by-products available to the masses. Its optimism masked the poor labor conditions and class divisions, leading to its decline with World War I.