Maggie's Graphic Arts Blog: The Bridge to the Twentieth Century: Part II

Art Nouveau

Maggie Merkin

ARTH 230.01

Terry Long

The late nineteenth century saw an incredible increase in trade and communication between Asian and European countries, causing many societal and intellectual/artistic changes as a result of all the influential exchanges. Graphic design became revitalized, as Asian art provided North American and European designers and artists with new approaches and techniques to color, space, subject matter, and drawing conventions. Ukiyo-e, or “pictures of the floating world,” defines Japan’s Tokugawa period, a period of national isolation that forced artists to acquire a singular national character with as few external influences as possible. Influences from the decorative arts, theater, erotica, and city life had a profound effect on the art of that period. Japanese art and artifacts began to leak into Europe, and European artists drew much inspiration from the calligraphic line drawing, flat color and silhouettes, decorative patterns, the use of bold black shapes, and the simplification and abstraction of natural appearances. From this movement came Art Nouveau, an international decorative style of art that encompassed all aspects of design art- architecture, fashion, graphics, furniture and product design, etc. The identifying quality of art nouveau is an organic, plant like line that dominates the spatial area and other visual properties of the piece, such as color and texture. This type of design/art unified decoration, structure, and function. English art nouveau was primarily concerned with graphic design and illustration rather than architecture and product design, and was influenced by the Gothic arts and Victorian painting. French art nouveau drew inspiration from the city and night life; artists like Toulouse-Lautrec obsessively drew from their observations using bold lines and color.