Art Nouveau: Art, Architecture and Design in Transformation

"Art Nouveau: Art, Architecture and Design in Transformation presents a new overview of the international Art Nouveau movement. Art Nouveau, Charlotte Ashby argues, represented the search for a new style for a new age, and hence a response to the conditions of modernity, in a world transformed by developments such as industrialisation, the growth of new cities, and the movements of populations into these cities, bringing about new ways of living, working and making that were felt to be fundamentally different to what had gone before. The book is structured around key themes for understanding the aesthetics and contexts of Art Nouveau, including form and ornament, symbolism and psychology, new forms of transport and communication, colonialism and imperialism, the rise of the 'modern woman' and the role of the patron-collector and the professional designer. Ashby explores the movement through 65 varied case studies of architecture, interiors, paintings, furniture, graphic arts, glass and ceramics by artists and designers, drawn from eighteen countries from a wide range of countries"--
Art Nouveau presents a new overview of the international Art Nouveau movement. Art Nouveau represented the search for a new style for a new age, a sense that the conditions of modernity called for fundamentally new means of expression. Art Nouveau emerged in a world transformed by industrialisation, urbanisation and increasingly rapid means of transnational exchange, bringing about new ways of living, working and creating.This book is structured around key themes for understanding the contexts behind Art Nouveau, including new materials and technologies, colonialism and imperialism, the rise of the 'modern woman', the rise of the professional designer and the role of the patron-collector. It also explores the new ideas that inspired Art Nouveau: nature and the natural sciences, world arts and world religions, psychology and new visions for the modern self. Ashby explores the movement through 41 case studies of artists and designers, buildings, interiors, paintings, graphic arts, glass, ceramics and jewellery, drawn from a wide range of countries.