# Art Nouveau

> An international 'new art' that sought a modern style free of historical revival, drawing its forms from plant growth and the female figure. Graphic work flows with whiplash curves and stylised flowers, frames idealised women in arches, halos and mosaic borders, and draws custom lettering that bends to fill the space, fusing image, ornament and type into one decorative surface.

- Period: 1890–1910
- Where: Western Europe, Central Europe, Southern Europe, North America
- Origin: Brussels, Paris, Nancy and Munich, with offshoots in Barcelona, Turin, Prague and the United States
- Branch: Craft & organic
- Also known as: Jugendstil, Stile Liberty, Modernisme, Modern Style
- Page: https://stylogeny.com/styles/art-nouveau/

## How it works

- Let a single sinuous whiplash line drive the composition, flowing through figure, ornament and lettering alike.
- Draw letters by hand and distort them to fill the shapes left by the image instead of setting them in lines.
- Base ornament on stems, tendrils, flowers and flowing hair, stylised into rhythmic contour lines.
- Enclose the central figure in arches, halos, roundels or panels framed by decorative borders.
- Outline flat or softly graded areas of muted, harmonious colour with a confident contour.
- Treat poster, book, interior and building as one Gesamtkunstwerk sharing a single ornamental language.

## Its design choices

Defining choices make the style, characteristic ones are usual, occasional ones turn up now and then.

### Layout & composition
- [Organic flow](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/organic-flow/) (defining)
- [Framed panels](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/framed-panels/) (characteristic)
- [Central symmetry](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/central-symmetry/) (characteristic)

### Space & hierarchy
- [Horror vacui](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/horror-vacui/) (characteristic)
- [Single focal point](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/single-focal-point/) (characteristic)
- [Repetition & rhythm](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/repetition-and-rhythm/) (occasional)

### Typography
- [Hand-lettering](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/hand-lettering/) (defining)
- [Ornamented display](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/ornamented-display/) (characteristic)
- [All caps](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/all-caps/) (occasional)

### Colour
- [Pastel](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/pastel/) (characteristic)
- [Analogous harmony](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/analogous-harmony/) (characteristic)
- [Flat fields](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/flat-fields/) (characteristic)
- [Jewel & metallic](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/jewel-and-metallic/) (occasional)
- [Gradients](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/gradients/) (occasional)

### Form & shape
- [Whiplash line](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/whiplash-line/) (defining)
- [Biomorphic curves](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/biomorphic-curves/) (defining)
- [Stylised figuration](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/stylised-figuration/) (characteristic)
- [Naturalistic depiction](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/naturalistic-depiction/) (occasional)

### Surface & texture
- [Flat](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/flat/) (characteristic)
- [Paper & letterpress bite](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/paper-and-letterpress-bite/) (occasional)

### Ornament
- [Abundant decoration](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/abundant-decoration/) (defining)
- [Floral & vegetal](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/floral-and-vegetal/) (defining)
- [Borders & frames](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/borders-and-frames/) (characteristic)
- [Cosmic & celestial](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/cosmic-and-celestial/) (occasional)

### Imagery
- [Line illustration](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/line-illustration/) (characteristic)
- [Painterly illustration](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/painterly-illustration/) (occasional)
- [Pattern & repeat](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/pattern-and-repeat/) (occasional)

### Medium & production
- [Lithography](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/lithography/) (characteristic)
- [Architecture & signage](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/architecture-and-signage/) (characteristic)
- [Letterpress](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/letterpress/) (occasional)

### Tone & intent
- [Romantic & sensual](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/romantic-and-sensual/) (defining)
- [Luxurious & glamorous](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/luxurious-and-glamorous/) (characteristic)
- [Spiritual & sacred](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/spiritual-and-sacred/) (occasional)

Avoids: Modular grid, Rectilinear, Angular & zigzag, Grotesque & neo-grotesque, Ornament-free, Flush left, ragged right

Palette: #efe2c4, #d9a6a0, #9fae84, #c9a24b, #3f7a75, #4b3b2a

Typefaces: Arnold Böcklin (Otto Weisert, 1904), Eckmann (Otto Eckmann, Gebr. Klingspor, 1900), Grasset (Eugène Grasset, G. Peignot et Fils, 1898), Mucha's hand-drawn poster lettering

Known for: Alphonse Mucha (Gismonda, 1894–95; JOB, 1896); Eugène Grasset; Henry van de Velde (Tropon poster, 1898); Hector Guimard (Paris Métro entrances, c. 1900); Otto Eckmann and Jugend magazine (Munich, from 1896); Aubrey Beardsley (Salome illustrations, 1894); Will H. Bradley (The Chap-Book covers, 1894–95)

## Where it comes from, and what it’s close to

- Grew out of: [Arts & Crafts Movement](https://stylogeny.com/styles/arts-and-crafts.md) (1860–1920)
- Influenced by: [Japonisme](https://stylogeny.com/styles/japonisme.md) (1860–1910)
- Influenced by: [Belle Époque Lithographic Poster](https://stylogeny.com/styles/belle-epoque-poster.md) (1866–1914)
- Led to: [Nieuwe Kunst (Dutch Art Nouveau)](https://stylogeny.com/styles/nieuwe-kunst.md) (1892–1914)
- Led to: [Simplicissimus Satirical Style (Munich)](https://stylogeny.com/styles/simplicissimus.md) (1896–1944)
- Led to: [Vienna Secession](https://stylogeny.com/styles/vienna-secession.md) (1897–1918)
- Led to: [Mir iskusstva Book Art](https://stylogeny.com/styles/mir-iskusstva.md) (1898–1927)
- Led to: [Expressionist Woodcut Graphics](https://stylogeny.com/styles/expressionist-graphics.md) (1905–1925)
- Led to: [Bezalel School](https://stylogeny.com/styles/bezalel-school.md) (1906–1929)
- Led to: [Taishō Roman & Lyrical Illustration](https://stylogeny.com/styles/taisho-roman.md) (1910–1940)
- Led to: [Wendingen & Amsterdam School Typography](https://stylogeny.com/styles/wendingen.md) (1918–1932)
- Led to: [Psychedelic Poster](https://stylogeny.com/styles/psychedelic.md) (1965–1973)
- Led to: [Solarpunk](https://stylogeny.com/styles/solarpunk.md) (2014–present)
- Alike in its design choices: [Mithila (Madhubani) Painting](https://stylogeny.com/styles/mithila-painting.md) (c. 1350–present), 61% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Armenian Manuscript Illumination](https://stylogeny.com/styles/armenian-illumination.md) (c. 862–1800), 57% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Persian Miniature (Ilkhanid, Timurid and Safavid Book Painting)](https://stylogeny.com/styles/persian-miniature.md) (c. 1300–1700), 57% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Celtic Revival Illumination & Lettering](https://stylogeny.com/styles/celtic-revival.md) (1861–1951), 57% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Cuban Tobacco Lithography (Habilitaciones & Marquillas)](https://stylogeny.com/styles/cuban-tobacco-lithography.md) (1845–present), 56% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Shanghai Modern & Yuefenpai](https://stylogeny.com/styles/shanghai-modern.md) (1910–1949), 54% alike

## Real works

- [Absinthe Robette](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Absinthe_Robette_-_affiche_-_Privat-Livemont_1896_-_btv1b9016411m.jpg): Henri Privat-Livemont, 1896, Bibliothèque nationale de France (via Wikimedia Commons)
- [Jugend, Nr. 14 (cover)](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Otto_Eckmann_-_Jugend_Nr._14,_1896.jpg): Otto Eckmann, 4 April 1896, Wikimedia Commons (scan credited to Kansallisarkisto, National Archives of Finland)
- [The Chap-Book](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Chap-book_-_Will_H._Bradley_LCCN2002721224.jpg): Will H. Bradley, 1895, Library of Congress, Artist Posters collection (via Wikimedia Commons)
- [Job (papier à cigarettes)](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Job_(papier_%C3%A0_cigarettes)_-_(affiche)_(Variante_de_lettre)_-_Mucha_-_btv1b90050886.jpg): Alphonse Mucha, 1896, Bibliothèque nationale de France (via Wikimedia Commons)

## Sources

- Philip B. Meggs & Alston W. Purvis, Meggs' History of Graphic Design
- Paul Greenhalgh (ed.), Art Nouveau 1890–1914 (V&A Publications, 2000)

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From Stylogeny (https://stylogeny.com/), an atlas of graphic-design styles by Van Riel Online Services. How it is made: https://stylogeny.com/about/. Cite as: Stylogeny, “Art Nouveau”, https://stylogeny.com/styles/art-nouveau/