Chapter 11: Art Nouveau

In chapter eleven, more major changes took place. It was first mentioned how Europe and America were influence by China and that China was influenced by them. Art Nouveau was a new movement that took place after the Victorian Era and before early modern art came; it consisted of decorative designs which became a part of everyday life, beginning in Paris. Many interesting Japanese artists influenced art nouveau in the way that they incorporated new elements to their designs and depicted everyday life. Art Nouveau was influenced by many styles of art, including: Celtic design, Rococo style, the Arts and Crafts Movement, Japanese decoration, Ukiyo-e woodblock prints, European paintings. Ukiyo-e meant “pictures of the floating world”; it was a form of art where screen paintings were decorative and realistic. Art Nouveau used many symbols throughout the artwork. Birth, life, growth, death, and decay were all represented, and there was some confusion and contradictions as to the meaning behind them. Did the expressions stem from the late 1800s? or were the expressions meant to be spiritual, aesthetic, and against materialism? Cheret was an artists who created large posters with simple designs. He experimented with techniques such as scratching, splattering and watercolor. In his work, he depicted women smoking, drinking, wearing low-cut dresses—all ways in which they were not expected to behave. Grasset enjoyed medieval and exotic art; his work reflected these interests. He designed posters and was a competitor of Cheret. His advertisements included women. In England, people focused on illustration and graphic design. Periodicals were used to help spread around the artwork. Aubrey Beardsley was an interesting artists, for he began creating art by using exotic and black and white imagery. He also distorted human figures and Morris disliked his grotesque designs. England actually banned his work. Beardsley eventually developed a more naturalistic style. Many other artists during this time created work that consisted of curves, light, fanciness, symbols, flat planes, forms, vivid color, abstraction, and decoration. Alphonse Mucha was one to create plant-like decorative backgrounds; his compositions were unrealistic and the hair he designed resembled spaghetti. Art Nouveau was passed on to America through newspapers and magazines—the top three being Harper’s, Scribner’s and Century. The designs for Harper’s magazine included people interestingly reading Harper’s magazine. It was humorous and a great idea—it lured people into buying it.

The most interesting thing I learned was how people used Harper’s magazine cover as a way to entice people to buy it. The designs were very creative with the use of vivid color and being influenced by French posters—which had interesting designs with the mixing of text and imagery. On the magazine covers, people were depicted reading the actual magazine. I thought the idea was pretty cool because I see the idea used for modern magazine covers and it entices me to want to buy it. I liked the cover for July with the oblivious woman lighting fireworks because she is so captivated by Harper’s magazine.

The book mentioned that a man named Baron Victor Horta may have started the movement of Art Nouveau. Did he?
What happened to Ethel Reed??