Preamble
For your convenience I have listed below the other post in this series:
Art Nouveau (Part I)
Art Nouveau (Part III)
Art Nouveau (Part IV)
Introduction [1]
Art Nouveau in its development relied heavily of new printing processes that were becoming available. These processes which were invented in the second half of the nineteenth century made possible the reproduction of polychromatic submissions, with the number of copies published being unrestricted; the representatives of Art Nouveau availed themselves of this possibility.
An old print machine used to make the lines on paper Letterpress, Art Nouveau.
The synthesis of art into daily life embedded itself in the production of books and magazines as well as periodicals. Their inclusion would stimulate the imagination of the reader in order to give rise to a new and visual consciousness of possibilities. Education and political intentions often formed the basis of such endeavours: art was to become popular, and a common property. The dual aim was to take pleasure in the imagery as well as heighten, educate and cultivate public taste for this new form.
Art Nouveau Typographic Ornaments - Wall Corners.
In every European country, numbers of periodicals were founded at that time: in Paris, "Revue Blanche" (1891); in London, "The Studio" (1893); in Berlin, "Pan" (1895); in Munich "Simplicissimus" and "Jugend" (both 1896); and in Vienna, "Ver Sacrum" (1898) - to name the most important forums for the new art, which was not necessarily identical with Art Nouveau.
Art Nouveau (Part II) [1]
Walter Crane (1845 - 1915)
Floral symbolism played an important role in European Art Nouveau. Flowers, plants, blossoms and leaves feature reportedly as an essential decorative, but also as a symbolic element in works from around the turn of the century. The flower as a symbol of fertility, of the feminine, of sexuality, is often portrayed in detail, in a manner which highlights similiarities with male and female genitals.
Walter Crane, with his numerous publications, was the main theorist of Art Nouveau in Britain. As an academic teacher he was a mentor to a whole generation of artists who subscribed to the new style; he thus represents the link in the chain between the Pre-Raphaelites and Art Nouveau.
Illustration for A Floral Fantasy in an Old English Garden, 1899 (Detail).
Technique: Autotype.
Size: 19.9 x 14 cm.
Josef Hoffmann (1870 - 1956)
The founding member of the Viennese "Secession", the architect and graphic artist Josef Hoffmann, is one of those representatives of Art Nouveau who realised most consistently the notion of "the synthesis of the arts" in their work. Dozens of public and private buildings were erected according to his plans (mainly in Vienna). The famous Palais Stoclet in Brussels should be mentioned. He designed furniture, wallpaper, crockery, and jewellery. From 1899 onwards he was Professor of Architecture at the College of Commercial Art in Vienna.
Two Designs for House Entrances, 1898, from "Ver Sacrum", Vol. 1, No. 7, page 14 (Full Size).
Technique: Pen and ink.
Size: 12.5 x 16.5 cm.
Fritz Endet (1873 - 1955)
After studying theology, Fritz Endet turned to painting. From the sea grows a mermaid, the concrete combines with the fantastic as ornamental becomes life. However attractive his wood engraving appears, one cannot help but feeling he has taken Art Nouveau to a point here, which permits no further development; it collapses inwardly, juste like a wave consumed by its own energy.
The Wave, 1900/1902 (Detail).
Technique: Color wood engraving on Japanese paper.
Size: 26 x 11.7 cm.
Wassily Kandinsky (1866 - 1944)
No other artist in the Modern Era underwent such a gross and sudden change in his approach as Wassily Kandinsky and yet had such an enduring influence on his contemporaries. After studying Law and Economics in Moscow (the city of his birth) his first artistic endeavours in 1897 centered on painting. That same year he went to Munich and became a student of Franz von Stuck. He was appointed Professor at the Art Academy in Moscow in 1918. In 1921 he returned to Germany and, until 1933, was Professor at the "Bauhaus" in Weimar and Dessau; when the Nazis seized power he emigrated to Paris, where he died eleven years later. His early works, influenced by his teacher Stuck, revealed a closeness to Art Nouveau. As both illustrations show (see below) Russian folklore has left his stamp on them; similar motifs can be found in the work of Chagall, twenty years Kandinsky's junior.
Wood-Engravings from the portfolio "Xylographies" (1907).
Size: 14.2 x 14.4 cm.
Wood-Engravings from the portfolio "Xylographies" (1907).
Size: 14.2 x 14.4 cm.
Jessie Marion King (1876 - 1949)
If one considers how often in Art Nouveau the woman, female eroticism, is examined and how often the woman is elevated as the giver of life, a symbol of fertility, it is astonishing that there is hardly a single female representative of this artistic style. On the other hand, this fact is perhaps an expression of a changing social role of women around the turn of the century, to which men reacted in an uncertain manner. We are much more likely to find answers to these questions in Viennese Art Nouveau, which was confronted with the results of research by Sigmund Freud, than in the graphic prints of Jesse Marion King.
Illustration for "The Magic Grammar", 1902 (Detail).
Technique: Autotype.
Size: 23.5 x 17 cm.
Aristide Maillol (1861 - 1944)
The French sculptor, graphic artist and painter is mainly known for his plastic art, to which he turned his attention in the 1880s, or for his book illustrations which were printed between 1925 and 1938. The latter, although they were produced much later, reveal, in the logically consistent use of line, a link with graphic art, executed in Art Nouveau style, of which the illustration below is an example. Maillol's penchant for sculpture can be seen in the plasticity of the girl's body, around which swirling water laps.
The Wave (ca. 1898).
Technique: Wood engraving.
Size: 17 x 19.5 cm.
Reference
[1] P. Bramböck, Art Nouveau, Tiger Books Internation, London (1988).
For your convenience I have listed below the other post in this series:
Art Nouveau (Part I)
Art Nouveau (Part III)
Art Nouveau (Part IV)
Introduction [1]
Art Nouveau in its development relied heavily of new printing processes that were becoming available. These processes which were invented in the second half of the nineteenth century made possible the reproduction of polychromatic submissions, with the number of copies published being unrestricted; the representatives of Art Nouveau availed themselves of this possibility.
The synthesis of art into daily life embedded itself in the production of books and magazines as well as periodicals. Their inclusion would stimulate the imagination of the reader in order to give rise to a new and visual consciousness of possibilities. Education and political intentions often formed the basis of such endeavours: art was to become popular, and a common property. The dual aim was to take pleasure in the imagery as well as heighten, educate and cultivate public taste for this new form.
In every European country, numbers of periodicals were founded at that time: in Paris, "Revue Blanche" (1891); in London, "The Studio" (1893); in Berlin, "Pan" (1895); in Munich "Simplicissimus" and "Jugend" (both 1896); and in Vienna, "Ver Sacrum" (1898) - to name the most important forums for the new art, which was not necessarily identical with Art Nouveau.
Art Nouveau (Part II) [1]
Walter Crane (1845 - 1915)
Floral symbolism played an important role in European Art Nouveau. Flowers, plants, blossoms and leaves feature reportedly as an essential decorative, but also as a symbolic element in works from around the turn of the century. The flower as a symbol of fertility, of the feminine, of sexuality, is often portrayed in detail, in a manner which highlights similiarities with male and female genitals.
Walter Crane, with his numerous publications, was the main theorist of Art Nouveau in Britain. As an academic teacher he was a mentor to a whole generation of artists who subscribed to the new style; he thus represents the link in the chain between the Pre-Raphaelites and Art Nouveau.
Technique: Autotype.
Size: 19.9 x 14 cm.
Josef Hoffmann (1870 - 1956)
The founding member of the Viennese "Secession", the architect and graphic artist Josef Hoffmann, is one of those representatives of Art Nouveau who realised most consistently the notion of "the synthesis of the arts" in their work. Dozens of public and private buildings were erected according to his plans (mainly in Vienna). The famous Palais Stoclet in Brussels should be mentioned. He designed furniture, wallpaper, crockery, and jewellery. From 1899 onwards he was Professor of Architecture at the College of Commercial Art in Vienna.
Technique: Pen and ink.
Size: 12.5 x 16.5 cm.
Fritz Endet (1873 - 1955)
After studying theology, Fritz Endet turned to painting. From the sea grows a mermaid, the concrete combines with the fantastic as ornamental becomes life. However attractive his wood engraving appears, one cannot help but feeling he has taken Art Nouveau to a point here, which permits no further development; it collapses inwardly, juste like a wave consumed by its own energy.
Technique: Color wood engraving on Japanese paper.
Size: 26 x 11.7 cm.
Wassily Kandinsky (1866 - 1944)
No other artist in the Modern Era underwent such a gross and sudden change in his approach as Wassily Kandinsky and yet had such an enduring influence on his contemporaries. After studying Law and Economics in Moscow (the city of his birth) his first artistic endeavours in 1897 centered on painting. That same year he went to Munich and became a student of Franz von Stuck. He was appointed Professor at the Art Academy in Moscow in 1918. In 1921 he returned to Germany and, until 1933, was Professor at the "Bauhaus" in Weimar and Dessau; when the Nazis seized power he emigrated to Paris, where he died eleven years later. His early works, influenced by his teacher Stuck, revealed a closeness to Art Nouveau. As both illustrations show (see below) Russian folklore has left his stamp on them; similar motifs can be found in the work of Chagall, twenty years Kandinsky's junior.
Size: 14.2 x 14.4 cm.
Size: 14.2 x 14.4 cm.
Jessie Marion King (1876 - 1949)
If one considers how often in Art Nouveau the woman, female eroticism, is examined and how often the woman is elevated as the giver of life, a symbol of fertility, it is astonishing that there is hardly a single female representative of this artistic style. On the other hand, this fact is perhaps an expression of a changing social role of women around the turn of the century, to which men reacted in an uncertain manner. We are much more likely to find answers to these questions in Viennese Art Nouveau, which was confronted with the results of research by Sigmund Freud, than in the graphic prints of Jesse Marion King.
Technique: Autotype.
Size: 23.5 x 17 cm.
Aristide Maillol (1861 - 1944)
The French sculptor, graphic artist and painter is mainly known for his plastic art, to which he turned his attention in the 1880s, or for his book illustrations which were printed between 1925 and 1938. The latter, although they were produced much later, reveal, in the logically consistent use of line, a link with graphic art, executed in Art Nouveau style, of which the illustration below is an example. Maillol's penchant for sculpture can be seen in the plasticity of the girl's body, around which swirling water laps.
Technique: Wood engraving.
Size: 17 x 19.5 cm.
Reference
[1] P. Bramböck, Art Nouveau, Tiger Books Internation, London (1988).
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