Art Noveau Ornament + CD

Throughout Europe in the last years of the 19th century, artists and craftsmen, practising each in his own field responded to a desire to revitalize artistic creation by renovating the very bases of the arts. In each country the expression of this new movement took on a distinct character translating the esthetic soul of each nation. In France and Belgium, it is called Art Nouveau or the style 1900, in Germany and Austria, Jugendstil and in Italy Stile Liberty or Stile Floreale. In Great Britain the Arts and Crafts Movement will be the British counterpart of this artistic upheaval.
Despite its multi-faceted presentation, European Art Nouveau presents numerous aspects common to all its branches. Artists devoted themselves to sinuous, dynamic and expressive line. Inspiration was often to be found in the plant world where their serious study of botany led them to create a new graphic language. A dogged determination for synergy in all the various fields of the fine and decorative arts led to an esthetic harmonization of artistic production. Numerous designers were fascinated by the association of text and image on the written page. This characteristic heralded in a new golden age of typography. Artists and typographers set out to create new type sets and decorative elements (vignettes, tailpieces, borders, fillets and frames) always seeking to establish a graphic balance between text and illustration.
Certain themes were particularly dear to the artists and designers of the period. Plants and flowers such as mistletoe, thistle and lilies underwent countless treatments; the Art Nouveau woman with her long, wavy hair was metamorphosed into a flower or a butterfly. Animals were transformed in conformity with the rules of the new esthetics.
Although the names of the designers are not known to a large audience - Hector Guimard, Eugene Grasset, Maurice Pillard Verneuil, William Morris, Aubrey Beardsley Alphonse Mucha, Emile Galle - their works however are easily recognizable and are integral parts of the immense artistic heritage of the period which spans the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries.
The most beautiful examples of Art Nouveau ornaments are brought together in this encyclopedia for your viewing pleasure.