Art Nouveau was a movement that came to prominence in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Gathering followers throughout Europe and the rest of the world. Art Nouveau was aimed at modernizing design, seeking to break free of the historical styles that had previously been popular. Artists drew inspiration from both organic and geometric forms, spawning elegant designs that united flowing, organic forms with more angular lines. The movement was committed to overthrowing the traditional hierarchy of the arts, which viewed so-called liberal arts, including painting and sculpture, as paramount to craft-based decorative arts. The style went out of fashion in the 1920’s as it was eclipsed by the Art Deco movement, but it experienced a popular revival in the 1960s, and it is now seen as an imperative predecessor of modernism.
The need to abandon the styles of the 19th century was a pressing motive behind Art Nouveau and one that entrenches the movement’s modernism. The masters of Art Nouveau sought to revive good workmanship, raise the status of craft, and produce genuinely modern design. They wanted to break to shackles of the past and rebel against tradition and the establishment.
The academic system, that had a monopoly over art education from the 17th to the 19th century, cemented the belief that media such as painting and sculpture were superior to crafts. Art Nouveau artists desired to overturn that belief and change the mindset of the public and art figures alike. Gaining recognition for new, modern art forms.
Contextual Studies 