Among modern artistic forms, one of the most renowned and easily recognizable is that which was officially called Art Nouveau but which has endless varieties within Europe, depending on the country and region.
Explanation of name and origin
As always, each artistic movement has had an explanation and a why regarding its name or those terms that have been chosen to designate it. In the case of this artistic style, we find the peculiarity that officially in France and in the rest of the world it has been known as Art Nouveau but then the name varies depending on the region. However, internationally it is known as such and this refers to the idea that it represented a new, modern style of art, renewed compared to what was being exhibited at the time in which it emerged.
When we talk about the origin of this style, we must place ourselves especially in the Europe of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, more specifically between 1890 and 1910. In these years, the Old Continent was in the historical period known as Belle Époque, that that supposed a time of relative peace and harmony between the countries that closed in 1914 with the explosion of the First World War . In this historical context, we can also speak of a succession of technological and scientific advances that improved the quality of life of the populations and thus art sought to reflect that well-being from abundance and ornamentation.
Main characteristics of the new art
Among the most distinctive elements of this style of art we find the predilection for curves and natural forms, which in many cases imitated the irregular, abundant, dynamic and wavy forms of nature. Many artists belonging to this style represented in their works the shapes of leaves, fruits and plants, covering almost all the available space in the case of painting and escaping the traditional limits of the frame in the case of furniture. or the decorative arts.
The arches, the irregular shapes, abundant vegetation and sinuosity, the texture, the delicacy and the elegance are all characteristics that make Art Nouveau an easily recognizable art. Another element is that this artistic style expanded to endless branches of art: although it is especially recognizable in painting and architecture, it has also had a strong presence in sculpture, decorative arts, furniture, and art. graphics, a branch that began to develop at that time with the growth of advertising and the mass media .
Main references and popularity of this style
Perhaps one of the things that played in favor of Art Nouveau to make it such an identifiable style is that many of its main references have gained special fame in the 20th century and in the world of international exhibitions, galleries and art centers.
Among them, we can point to Gustav Klimt and Alphonse Mucha: both Austrians became the most visible artists of this style who contributed to its dissemination and to the development of plastic arts, decorative arts, graphics and advertising.
