After Class-Art Nouveau

Art Nouveau is considered the first international movement of design. It began in France and means new art, and that is exactly why this movement began, because the French believed it was about time for art to transform. This movement involves the collision of many different types of styles, it is a very imaginative type of design as well as very organic. This decorative styling and the push to transform art led to art being made a part of everyday life rather than art being seclusive. Overall this movement is what created the push away from victorian design into modern design. New materials were being used during this period like lithograph print making, which is done by using stone a grease to etch an image that becomes a template for a print that can be reused. Toulouse-Lautrec was a french designer that made posters using the Lithograph print making process. He was inspired by both the asian woodblock prints and impressionism. Outside of france the movement began to grow but each country would create their own version of what Art Nouveau is, yet they all contain some common aspects of design. For example English style art nouveau involved powerful black shapes and abstracted pen lines that utilized negative space. In Belgium and the Netherlands, Henry Van de Velde strayed from painting and began to design furniture and buildings which helped make this period of art truly seen in everyday life. Art nouveau brought back this idea of an artistic license that allowed artists to expand on their creativity, giving birth to new ideas.