“new art” in French, Art
Nouveau introduced specific
deviations from established
visual styles. While the translation of the phrase art nouveau is straightforward, the
movement as a whole was
in fact, complex. Depending
on the region, the Art Nouveau style was expressed by
artists in diverse ways. Art
Nouveau was even referred
to differently in the various
countries where it developed. The designation “Art
Nouveau,” which is most
often used today, was first
coined in Belgium. The label
was popularized because it
was used in the name of an
important gallery in Paris,
Maison de l’Art Nouveau,
owned by the German art
dealer, Siegfried Bing, who
propagated this new style.
Almost every area of
art and architecture was
included in the repertoire
of Art Nouveau. Not only
were paintings, sculptures,
and buildings created in
the style, but items that fall
under the heading of the
applied arts, such as furniture, ceramics, utilitarian
glass objects, and textiles,
were produced as well.
Flowing, organic lines in
an asymmetrical composition, often coupled with
large flat patterns of color,
typify the look that was
embodied by Mucha’s version of the Art Nouveau
style. The sinuous lines
and asymmetry found in
Mucha’s work are characteristic of the earlier Rococo
and Neo-Rococo styles, both
of which had an impact on
Art Nouveau artists in Belgium and France, especially
in the design of furniture.
MUCHA: Master Artist
of Art Nouveau
Alphonse Mucha,
Cocorico,
February 1899;
Collection of Patrick M. Rowe.