Art Nouveau | History, Characteristics, Artists, & Facts

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<main> <div class="md-page-wrapper"> <div id="content" class="md-content"> <div class="md-article-container template-desktop"> <div class="infinite-scroll-container article last"> <article class="article-content container-lg qa-content px-0 pt-0 pb-40 py-lg-20 content " data-topic-id="36571"> <div class="grid gx-0"> <div class="col-auto"> <div class="topic-left-rail md-article-drawer position-relative d-flex border-right-sm border-left-sm open"> <div class="drawer d-flex flex-column open"> <div class="left-rail-section-content"> <div class="topic-left-rail-header text-truncate bg-gray-50 position-relative text-right d-flex align-items-center"> <div class="tlr-title px-20 py-15 text-left"> <em class="material-icons text-gray-400 d-lg-none" data-icon="toc"></em> <a class="font-serif font-weight-bold text-black link-blue" href="https://www.britannica.com/art/Art-Nouveau">Art Nouveau</a> </div> <button aria-label="Close" class="js-sections-close-button btn-link btn-sm btn d-lg-none position-absolute top-0 p-10 right-0" > <em class="material-icons font-26" data-icon="close"></em> </button> </div> <div class="section-content pl-10 pr-20 pl-sm-50 pr-sm-60 pl-lg-5 pr-lg-10 pt-10 pt-lg-0 bg-gray-50 clear-catfish-ad"> <div class="toc mb-20"> <div class="font-serif font-14 font-weight-bold mx-15 mb-15 mt-20"> Table of Contents </div> <span class="toc-extra-link selected link-gray-900 mt-15"> Introduction </span> <a class="toc-extra-link link-gray-900" href="https://www.britannica.com/art/Art-Nouveau/additional-info">References & Edit History</a> <a class="toc-extra-link link-gray-900" href="/facts/Art-Nouveau">Quick Facts & Related Topics</a> </div> <div class="tlr-media-slider pb-10 mb-30"> <a class="section-header link-gray-900 font-serif font-14 font-weight-bold mb-10 mx-10" href="https://www.britannica.com/art/Art-Nouveau/images-videos">Images</a> <div class="slider js-slider position-relative d-inline-flex align-items-center mw-100 "> <div class="slider-container js-slider-container overflow-hidden d-flex overflow-hidden text-nowrap ml-15"> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/62/141062-050-59083E37/Staircase-Hotel-Tassel-Victor-Horta-Brussels-style.jpg" data-href="/media/1/36571/230127" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/62/141062-004-EAE15A52/Staircase-Hotel-Tassel-Victor-Horta-Brussels-style.jpg" alt="staircase in the Hôtel Tassel" height="50" /> </a> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/79/166179-050-016B760B/illustration-Art-Nouveau-Thomas-Malory-edition-Aubrey-1893.jpg" data-href="/media/1/36571/192045" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/79/166179-004-C9575F99/illustration-Art-Nouveau-Thomas-Malory-edition-Aubrey-1893.jpg" alt="Aubrey Beardsley: illustration for Le Morte Darthur" height="50" /> </a> <a href="" data-href="/media/1/36571/316816" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/48/262348-049-24A7946F/infogram-banner-art-movements-portal.jpg" alt="Britannica's Guide to Art Movements" height="50" /> </a> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/10/42810-004-F27B9985/Art-Nouveau-glass-oak-cabinet-Charles-Rennie-1902.jpg" data-href="/media/1/36571/158219" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/10/42810-004-F27B9985/Art-Nouveau-glass-oak-cabinet-Charles-Rennie-1902.jpg" alt="Charles Rennie Mackintosh: painted oak cabinet with colored glass" height="50" /> </a> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/24/195624-050-4968A144/Zodiac-colour-lithograph-Alphonse-Mucha-California-Los-1896.jpg" data-href="/media/1/36571/240141" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/24/195624-004-47ED12F7/Zodiac-colour-lithograph-Alphonse-Mucha-California-Los-1896.jpg" alt="Alphonse Mucha: Zodiac" height="50" /> </a> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/11/45311-004-EA2FFB00/bracelet-Art-Nouveau-ring-design-Georges-Fouquet-1901.jpg" data-href="/media/1/36571/192043" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/11/45311-004-EA2FFB00/bracelet-Art-Nouveau-ring-design-Georges-Fouquet-1901.jpg" alt="Georges Fouquet: Art Nouveau jewelry" height="50" /> </a> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/42/122142-050-4CC4E60A/Casa-Mila-Barcelona-Antoni-Gaudi.jpg" data-href="/media/1/36571/192316" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/42/122142-004-3119553A/Casa-Mila-Barcelona-Antoni-Gaudi.jpg" alt="Antoni Gaudí: Casa Milá" height="50" /> </a> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/43/5843-050-3D46B497/Casa-Mila-Barcelona-Antoni-Gaudi.jpg" data-href="/media/1/36571/486" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/43/5843-004-8C29BD12/Casa-Mila-Barcelona-Antoni-Gaudi.jpg" alt="Casa Milá, Barcelona, by Antoni Gaudí, 1905–10." height="50" /> </a> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/92/45792-004-195C838E/Art-Nouveau-decoration-essay-Henry-van-de.jpg" data-href="/media/1/36571/38363" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/92/45792-004-195C838E/Art-Nouveau-decoration-essay-Henry-van-de.jpg" alt="Art Nouveau initial" height="50" /> </a> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/99/135399-004-04145F81/table-lamp-New-York-City-Louis-Comfort.jpg" data-href="/media/1/36571/147694" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/99/135399-004-04145F81/table-lamp-New-York-City-Louis-Comfort.jpg" alt="Tiffany lamp" height="50" /> </a> </div> <button disabled class="prev-button js-prev-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-blue " aria-label="Previous"> <span 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data-href="/media/1/36571/230127">staircase in the Hôtel Tassel</a> <span><span>Staircase in the Hôtel Tassel, Brussels, designed by Victor Horta in the Art Nouveau style, 1892–93.</span></span> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <span class="link-blue">(more)</span> </button> </span> </div> </figcaption> </figure> </div><div class="topic-header"> <div class="d-flex align-items-top justify-content-between"> <div class="d-flex flex-column"> <div> <div> <h1>Art Nouveau</h1></div> </div> <div class="topic-identifier font-16 font-md-20">artistic style</div> </div> </div> <div class="d-none d-sm-flex flex-row"> <div class="mr-10 mb-15"> <button class="ai-ask-button btn border-2 btn-sm js-inline-ai-ask-button btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400"> Ask the Chatbot a Question </button> </div> <div class="d-block md-topic-tools qa-action-buttons mb-15" data-topic-id="36571"> <button class="js-tooltip btn btn-sm 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They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor text-decoration-underline"> The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</span></div> <div class="last-updated font-12 font-serif"> <span class="text-gray-700"> Last Updated: <time datetime="2024-12-09T00:00:00CST" >Dec 9, 2024</time> •</span> <a class="byline-edit-history" href="https://www.britannica.com/art/Art-Nouveau/additional-info#history" rel="nofollow">Article History</a> </div></div> </div> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button d-none d-sm-block js-sections-inline-button module-spacing btn d-lg-none"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <div class="d-flex d-sm-none flex-row"> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button js-sections-inline-button module-spacing"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <button class="ai-ask-button btn border-2 ai-ask-button btn border-2 module-spacing btn-sm js-inline-ai-ask-button btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400 p-10 ml-5"> Ask the Chatbot a Question </button> </div> <div class="js-qf-module qf-module px-40 px-sm-20 py-15 mx-auto module-spacing font-14 bg-gray-50 rounded"> <div class="qf-title font-weight-bold font-14 mb-10 text-center"> Quick Facts</div> <div class="facts-list mt-10"> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Date: </dt> <dd><i>c. </i> 1890 - <i>c. </i> 1910</dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Related Artists: </dt> <dd><a href="/biography/Louis-Sullivan">Louis Sullivan</a></dd> <dd><a href="/biography/Antoni-Gaudi">Antoni Gaudí</a></dd> <dd><a href="/biography/Valentin-Aleksandrovich-Serov">Valentin Aleksandrovich Serov</a></dd> <dd><a href="/biography/Lyubov-Sergeyevna-Popova">Lyubov Sergeyevna Popova</a></dd> <dd><a href="/biography/Louis-Comfort-Tiffany">Louis Comfort Tiffany</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> <div class="text-center"> <a class="btn btn-sm btn-link p-0" href="/facts/Art-Nouveau"> See all related content </a> </div> </div> </div> </div><span class="marker before-article"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref1"><span class="marker PREMOD1 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph"><strong><span id="ref82841"></span>Art Nouveau</strong>, style of art that <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="flourished" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/flourished" data-type="EB">flourished</a> between about 1890 and 1910 throughout <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Europe" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Europe</a> and the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/United-States" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">United States</a>. Art Nouveau is characterized by its use of a long, sinuous, organic line and was employed most often in <span id="ref82842"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/architecture" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">architecture</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/interior-design" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">interior design</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/jewelry" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">jewelry</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/glassware" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">glass</a> design, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/poster" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">posters</a>, and illustration. It was a deliberate attempt to create a new style, free of the imitative historicism that dominated much of 19th-century art and design. About this time the term Art Nouveau was coined, in Belgium by the periodical <em>L’Art Moderne</em> to describe the work of the artist group <span id="ref1268524"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Les-Vingt" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Les Vingt</a> and in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Paris" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Paris</a> by S. Bing (byname of Siegfried Bing), who named his gallery L’Art Nouveau. The style was called <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/Jugendstil" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Jugendstil</a> in Germany, Sezessionstil in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Austria" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Austria</a>, Stile Floreale (or Stile Liberty) in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Italy" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Italy</a>, and Modernismo (or Modernista) in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Spain" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Spain</a>.</p><span class="marker MOD1 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD2 mod-inline"></span><div class="assemblies"><div class="w-100"><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="192045" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media" data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/79/166179-050-016B760B/illustration-Art-Nouveau-Thomas-Malory-edition-Aubrey-1893.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/36571/192045"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/79/166179-050-016B760B/illustration-Art-Nouveau-Thomas-Malory-edition-Aubrey-1893.jpg?w=300"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/79/166179-050-016B760B/illustration-Art-Nouveau-Thomas-Malory-edition-Aubrey-1893.jpg?w=300" alt="Aubrey Beardsley: illustration for Le Morte Darthur" data-width="1235" data-height="1600" loading="eager"></picture><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/79/166179-050-016B760B/illustration-Art-Nouveau-Thomas-Malory-edition-Aubrey-1893.jpg" data-href="/media/1/36571/192045">Aubrey Beardsley: illustration for <em>Le Morte Darthur</em></a><span>Art Nouveau illustration by Aubrey Beardsley for an 1893 edition of Sir Thomas Malory's <em>Le Morte Darthur</em>. </span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div></div><p class="topic-paragraph">In England the style’s immediate <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="precursors" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/precursors" data-type="MW">precursors</a> were the <span id="ref82843"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/Aestheticism" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Aestheticism</a> of the illustrator <span id="ref82844"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Aubrey-Beardsley" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Aubrey Beardsley</a>, who depended heavily on the expressive quality of organic line, and the <span id="ref82845"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/Arts-and-Crafts-movement" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Arts and Crafts movement</a> of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-Morris-British-artist-and-author" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">William Morris</a>, who established the importance of a vital style in the applied arts. On the European continent, Art Nouveau was influenced by experiments with expressive line by the painters <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Paul-Gauguin" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Paul Gauguin</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Henri-de-Toulouse-Lautrec" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec</a>. The movement was also partly inspired by a vogue for the <span id="ref82846"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/line-art" class="md-crosslink ">linear</a> patterns of Japanese prints (<a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/ukiyo-e" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">ukiyo-e</a>).</p><span class="marker MOD2 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD3 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The distinguishing characteristic of Art Nouveau is its undulating asymmetrical line, often taking the form of flower stalks and buds, vine tendrils, insect wings, and other delicate and sinuous natural objects; the line may be elegant and graceful or <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="infused" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/infused" data-type="EB">infused</a> with a powerfully rhythmic and whiplike force. In the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/graphic-art" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">graphic arts</a> the line subordinates all other pictorial elements—form, texture, space, and color—to its own decorative effect. In architecture and the other plastic arts, the whole of the three-dimensional form becomes engulfed in the organic, linear rhythm, creating a fusion between structure and ornament. Architecture particularly shows this synthesis of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/ornament" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">ornament</a> and structure; a liberal combination of materials—ironwork, glass, ceramic, and brickwork—was employed, for example, in the creation of unified interiors in which columns and beams became thick vines with spreading tendrils and windows became both openings for light and air and membranous outgrowths of the organic whole. This approach was directly opposed to the traditional architectural <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="values" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/values" data-type="EB">values</a> of reason and clarity of structure.</p><a class="link-module shadow-sm d-block qa-quiz-module" href="/quiz/ultimate-art-quiz" data-link-module-iframe-link=""> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/74/129374-131-833AE3CF/Chalk.jpg" alt="Color pastels, colored chalk, colorful chalk. Hompepage blog 2009, arts and entertainment, history and society" class="rounded-sm mr-15" width="70" /> <div class="line-clamp clamp-5"> <div class="module-title bg-green">Britannica Quiz</div> <div class="font-weight-semi-bold mt-5">Ultimate Art Quiz</div> </div> </a><span class="marker MOD3 mod-inline"></span><div class="mb-20"><div class="w-100"><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="316816" data-asm-type="infogram"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media" data-type="infogram"><script id="infogram_0__/O0cm224BAtnWiVgJ4lz5" src="https://e.infogram.com/js/dist/embed.js?Itp" type="text/javascript" title="Britannica's Guide to Art Movements"></script></div></figure></div></div><span class="marker PREMOD5 mod-inline"></span><div class="assemblies multiple medialist slider js-slider position-relative d-inline-flex align-items-center mw-100" data-type="other"><div class="slider-container js-slider-container overflow-hidden d-flex"><div class="rw-track d-flex align-items-center"><div class="position-relative rw-slide col-100 px-20 "><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="158219" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media" data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/10/42810-004-F27B9985/Art-Nouveau-glass-oak-cabinet-Charles-Rennie-1902.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/36571/158219"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/10/42810-004-F27B9985/Art-Nouveau-glass-oak-cabinet-Charles-Rennie-1902.jpg?w=300"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/10/42810-004-F27B9985/Art-Nouveau-glass-oak-cabinet-Charles-Rennie-1902.jpg?w=300" alt="Charles Rennie Mackintosh: painted oak cabinet with colored glass" data-width="507" data-height="450" loading="eager"></picture><div class="position-absolute top-10 left-10 assembly-slide-tag rounded-lg">1 of 3</div><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/10/42810-004-F27B9985/Art-Nouveau-glass-oak-cabinet-Charles-Rennie-1902.jpg" data-href="/media/1/36571/158219">Charles Rennie Mackintosh: painted oak cabinet with colored glass</a><span>Painted oak cabinet with colored glass, designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, 1902.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div><div class="position-relative rw-slide col-100 px-20 "><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="240141" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media" data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/24/195624-050-4968A144/Zodiac-colour-lithograph-Alphonse-Mucha-California-Los-1896.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/36571/240141"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/24/195624-050-4968A144/Zodiac-colour-lithograph-Alphonse-Mucha-California-Los-1896.jpg?w=300"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/24/195624-050-4968A144/Zodiac-colour-lithograph-Alphonse-Mucha-California-Los-1896.jpg?w=300" alt="Alphonse Mucha: Zodiac" data-width="1218" data-height="1600" loading="eager"></picture><div class="position-absolute top-10 left-10 assembly-slide-tag rounded-lg">2 of 3</div><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/24/195624-050-4968A144/Zodiac-colour-lithograph-Alphonse-Mucha-California-Los-1896.jpg" data-href="/media/1/36571/240141">Alphonse Mucha: <em>Zodiac</em></a><span><em>Zodiac</em>, color lithograph by Alphonse Mucha, 1896; in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, California.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div><div class="position-relative rw-slide col-100 px-20 "><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="192043" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media" data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/11/45311-004-EA2FFB00/bracelet-Art-Nouveau-ring-design-Georges-Fouquet-1901.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/36571/192043"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/11/45311-004-EA2FFB00/bracelet-Art-Nouveau-ring-design-Georges-Fouquet-1901.jpg?w=300"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/11/45311-004-EA2FFB00/bracelet-Art-Nouveau-ring-design-Georges-Fouquet-1901.jpg?w=300" alt="Georges Fouquet: Art Nouveau jewelry" data-width="550" data-height="192" loading="eager"></picture><div class="position-absolute top-10 left-10 assembly-slide-tag rounded-lg">3 of 3</div><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/11/45311-004-EA2FFB00/bracelet-Art-Nouveau-ring-design-Georges-Fouquet-1901.jpg" data-href="/media/1/36571/192043">Georges Fouquet: Art Nouveau jewelry</a><span>Art Nouveau bracelet and ring made for Sarah Bernhardt by Georges Fouquet after a design by Alphonse Mucha, 1901; in the Michel Perinet Collection, Paris.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div></div></div><button disabled="true" class="prev-button js-prev-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-lg btn-blue-dark m-20"><span class="material-icons" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_left"></span></button><button disabled="true" class="next-button js-next-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-lg btn-blue-dark m-20"><span class="material-icons" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></span></button></div><p class="topic-paragraph">There were a great number of artists and designers who worked in the Art Nouveau style. Some of the more prominent were the Scottish architect and designer <span id="ref82847"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Charles-Rennie-Mackintosh" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Charles Rennie Mackintosh</a>, who specialized in a predominantly geometric line and particularly influenced the Austrian Sezessionstil; the Belgian architects <span id="ref82848"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Henry-van-de-Velde" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Henry van de Velde</a> and <span id="ref82849"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Victor-Baron-Horta" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Victor Horta</a>, whose extremely sinuous and delicate structures influenced the French architect <span id="ref82850"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Hector-Guimard" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Hector Guimard</a>, another important figure; the American glassmaker <span id="ref82851"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Louis-Comfort-Tiffany" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Louis Comfort Tiffany</a>; the French furniture and ironwork designer <span id="ref82852"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Louis-Majorelle" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Louis Majorelle</a>; the Czechoslovakian graphic designer-artist <span id="ref82853"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alphonse-Mucha" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Alphonse Mucha</a>; the French glass and jewelry designer <span id="ref82854"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Rene-Lalique" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">René Lalique</a>; the American architect <span id="ref82855"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Louis-Sullivan" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Louis Sullivan</a>, who used plantlike Art Nouveau ironwork to decorate his traditionally structured buildings; and the Spanish architect and sculptor <span id="ref82856"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Antoni-Gaudi" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Antonio Gaudí</a>, perhaps the most original artist of the movement, who went beyond dependence on line to transform buildings into curving, bulbous, brightly colored, organic constructions.</p><div class="one-good-fact-module"> </div><span class="marker MOD5 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD6 mod-inline"></span><div class="assemblies"><div class="w-100"><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="192316" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media" data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/42/122142-050-4CC4E60A/Casa-Mila-Barcelona-Antoni-Gaudi.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/36571/192316"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/42/122142-050-4CC4E60A/Casa-Mila-Barcelona-Antoni-Gaudi.jpg?w=300"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/42/122142-050-4CC4E60A/Casa-Mila-Barcelona-Antoni-Gaudi.jpg?w=300" alt="Antoni Gaudí: Casa Milá" data-width="1600" data-height="1067" loading="eager"></picture><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/42/122142-050-4CC4E60A/Casa-Mila-Barcelona-Antoni-Gaudi.jpg" data-href="/media/1/36571/192316">Antoni Gaudí: Casa Milá</a><span>Casa Milá, Barcelona, by Antoni Gaudí, 1905–10.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div></div><p class="topic-paragraph">After 1910 Art Nouveau appeared old-fashioned and limited and was generally abandoned as a distinct decorative style. In the 1960s, however, the style was rehabilitated, in part, by major exhibitions organized at the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Museum-of-Modern-Art-museum-New-York-City" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Museum of Modern Art</a> in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/New-York-state" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">New York</a> (1959) and at the Musée National d’Art <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/Art-Deco" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Moderne</a> (1960), as well as by a large-scale <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="retrospective" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/retrospective" data-type="EB">retrospective</a> on Beardsley held at the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Victoria-and-Albert-Museum" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Victoria & Albert Museum</a> in London in 1966. The exhibitions elevated the status of the movement, which had often been viewed by critics as a passing trend, to the level of other major Modern art movements of the late 19th century. Currents of the movement were then revitalized in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/Pop-art" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Pop</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/Op-art" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Op art</a>. In the popular domain, the flowery organic lines of Art Nouveau were revived as a new <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/psychedelic-rock" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">psychedelic</a> style in fashion and in the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/typography" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">typography</a> used on rock and pop album covers and in commercial <a href="https://www.britannica.com/money/advertising" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">advertising</a>.</p><span class="marker MOD6 mod-inline"></span></section> <span class="md-signature"><a href="/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419">The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</a></span> <span class="md-signature">This article was most recently revised and updated by <a href="/editor/Alicja-Zelazko/9823860">Alicja Zelazko</a>.</span><span class="marker end-of-content"></span><span class="marker after-article"></span></div> <div id="chatbot-root"></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ai-dialog-placeholder"></div> </div> </div> <aside class="col-md-da-320"></aside> </div> </div> </div> </div> </article></div> </div></div> </div> </main> <div id="md-footer"></div> <noscript><iframe src="//www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-5W6NC8" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript> <script type="text/javascript" id="_informizely_script_tag"> var IzWidget = IzWidget || {}; (function (d) { var scriptElement = d.createElement('script'); scriptElement.type = 'text/javascript'; scriptElement.async = true; scriptElement.src = "https://insitez.blob.core.windows.net/site/f780f33e-a610-4ac2-af81-3eb184037547.js"; var node = d.getElementById('_informizely_script_tag'); node.parentNode.insertBefore(scriptElement, node); } )(document); </script>  <script> window.ap3c = window.ap3c || {}; var ap3c = window.ap3c; ap3c.cmd = ap3c.cmd || []; ap3c.cmd.push(function() { ap3c.init('ZO4siT4cLwnykPnzZWJtd3Byb2Q', 'https://engage.email.britannica.com/'); ap3c.track({v: 0}); }); ap3c.activity = function(act) { ap3c.act = (ap3c.act || []); ap3c.act.push(act); }; var s, t; s = document.createElement('script'); s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.src = "https://engage.email.britannica.com/app.js"; t = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; t.parentNode.insertBefore(s, t); </script> <script class="marketing-page-info" type="application/json"> {"pageType":"Topic","templateName":"DESKTOP","pageNumber":1,"pagesTotal":1,"pageId":36571,"pageLength":676,"initialLoad":true,"lastPageOfScroll":false} </script> <script class="marketing-content-info" type="application/json"> [] </script> <script src="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-131/js/libs/jquery-3.5.0.min.js?v=3.131.7"></script> <script type="text/javascript" data-type="Init Mendel Code Splitting"> (function() { $.ajax({ dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: 'https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-131/dist/topic-page.js?v=3.131.7' }); })(); </script> <script class="analytics-metadata" type="application/json"> {"leg":"A","adLeg":"A","userType":"ANONYMOUS","pageType":"Topic","pageSubtype":null,"articleTemplateType":"MEDIUM","gisted":false,"pageNumber":1,"hasSummarizeButton":false,"hasAskButton":true} </script> <script type="text/javascript"> EBStat={accountId:-1,hostnameOverride:'webstats.eb.com',domain:'www.britannica.com', json:''}; </script> <script type="text/javascript"> ( function() { $.ajax( { dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: '//www.britannica.com/webstats/mendelstats.js?v=1' } ) .done( function() { try {writeStat(null,EBStat);} catch(err){} } ); })(); </script> <div id="bc-fixed-dialogue"></div> </body> </html>

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Art Nouveau | History, Characteristics, Artists, & Facts | Britannica