MODERNISM 5: ART NOUVEAU & JAPONISME

Louis Comfort Tiffany, Vase, glass, 1893-6

Art Nouveau was an influential modernist movement spanning about 1890-1910. The artists of this period were very interested in decoration and beautiful forms, usually derived from Nature. This vase takes its inspiration from a peacock feather.

REVIEW OF SYMBOLISM

Where did it come from? What were its characteristics?

Eugene Carriere, The First Communion, oil on canvas,65cm x 53cm, c. 1896.

• An idea was more important than a realistic depiction of Nature.

• Interest in birth; death; the Spiritual; beauty; innocence; dreams. Often has a sense of being ‘out of time’ – contrast with Impressionists.

• Flattening of the ‘window on the world’ illusion provided by linear perspective.

• Interest in surface; decoration; association with literature/stories.

Odilon Redon, Pandora, oil on canvas, 143cm x 62cm, c. 1914

Jaques Louis David, Death of Socrates, 1787

Batoni, Diana and Cupid, 124cm x 172cm, 1761

Careful modelling of the form; blended brushstrokes; balanced and harmonious composition.

Remember what Neoclassical art looked like….

Characteristics of Art NouveauArt Nouveau was influenced by Symbolism. Impressionism had been interested in describing things truthfully; even scientifically. Symbolism had other priorities, which resulted in new ways of creating images. Art Nouveau pushed this further.

Scenes from everyday life were not valued as they had been in Impressionist art. In Art Nouveau, a sinuous curve was a common feature. As with Symbolism, there was much less interest in the realistic treatment of skin and form. Aspects of design became of more important.

Alphonse Mucha, Maude Adams as Joan of Arc, 1909, 208 x 76cm, oil on canvas

William H Bradley, Thanksgiving No. from The Chapbook 1895, journal cover.

With Art Nouveau there was a blurring of boundaries between fine arts (traditionally this was architecture; painting; sculpture ) and applied (or decorative) arts : jewellery; furnishings; design; ceramics; graphic arts. There was a desire to regard all these art forms as equal, rather than the fine arts being seen as superior. Artists were interested in entire environments of certain style.

This was a period when industrial production (along with the middle class) was increasing rapidly. Shops stocking Art Nouveau objects became more widespread…the Art Nouveau style was popular across Europe and USA (called Jugenstil in Germany; Sezessionstil in Austria; Stile Liberty in Italy; the Glasgow style in Scotland.) They each had different styles.

Also, advertising and signage were becoming more widely used. Bearing in mind the increase in industrial production, how might this affect our Conceptual Framework? (That is, the relationships between artist, artwork, audience and world…)

Alphonse Mucha, Nature, gilt bronze, silver, marble, amethyst, 69 x 27 x 30; c.1900

Hector Guimard, Metro signs Paris, c. 1900

In art nouveau architecture, materials of wrought iron, glass and steel were being used in new ways.Natural forms were “freed from roots and gravity” as never before, becoming partof a design. (Meggs, 1998,p.183.)

Clip on Art Nouveau architecture: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsB6D5gEXnM

Victor Horta (Belgian, 1861-1947, stair way of Tassel House, Brussels 1893

Rene Lalique, Dragonfly woman corsage ornament, 23 x 26cm, 1897-8, Gold, chrysoprase, enamel, moonstones and diamonds.

Both women and dragonflies were favourite motifs of Art Nouveau, influenced by Japanese art.

Rene Lalique, Peacock pectoral, 1898-90, 9cm x 19cm, gold, enamel,Opals, diamonds.

JAPONISME – the influence of Japanese art

In the second half of 19th cent there was an increase in trade and communication between Japan and Europe/USA. Up till then, Japan had existed in deliberate isolation from the West (except for some selected contact.) This gave Japanese art a chance to develop a strong, unique national character. •

Hiroshige, Station of Otsu, woodblock print, 1848-9

Note that this image is concerned with everyday and contemporary life. This approach greatly influenced the Impressionists.

Printmaking techniques from Japan became popular (woodblock prints). Around this time, the colour lithograph became available. This is a drawing created on a stone which multiple prints can be taken from at relatively low cost. This allowed the poster to be created – an important development for advertising.

Toulouse-lautrec, Moulin Rouge: La Goulue, colour lithograph poster, 1891.

• From 1860s on art from Japan became very popular, not just as 2-d artworks, but on furniture, textiles etc. Images from everyday life; images of people from the theatre; prostitutes; erotica; and also landscape art. These styles influenced the Impressionists; post-Impressionists; Symbolists; Art Nouveau.

Mary Cassatt, Maternal Caress, etching, 36cm x 27cm 1891

Utamaro, Midnight, Hours of the Rat, mother and sleepy child,woodblock print 1791

Mary Cassatt is associated with the Impressionists, and here shows the direct influence of Umaro’s artwork coming to France in late 19th cent.

RESOURCESMetropolitan Museum of Art Heilbrunn Timeline on Art Nouveau:http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/artn/hd_artn.htm

National Gallery of Art, Washington DC, Art Nouveau Education site: http://www.nga.gov/education/tchan_1.shtm

Meggs, Philip B. A history of Graphic Design. 3rd edition. New York: John Wiley & Sons Inc., 1998. P. 183.

Magnificent collection of Rene Lalique’s work: Museu Gulbenkian: http://www.museu.gulbenkian.pt/coleccao.asp?lang=en

Alphonse Mucha: http://www.muchafoundation.org/home

Metropolitan Museum of Art Heilbrunn Timeline Essay on Japonisme http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/jpon/hd_jpon.htm

EXAMINING THE EXAMHand-out: first two pages of an HSC exam.

Plate 1: Hans Holbein the Younger, (1497–1543, Germany) Portrait of Henry VIII, 1539 – 40, oil on panel, 88.3 x 74.9 cm, Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Antica, Rome

Q 1: How has the artist represented King Henry VIII in this painting?

Q 2: How are ideas about cultural identity represented in these photographs?

Plate 2: Rosemary Laing, b. 1959, Australia groundspeed (Red Piazza) #2, 2001 type-C photograph, 110 X 205 cm Note: Red Piazza was a carpet pattern popular in Australian homes and entertainment venues in the mid twentieth century. Note: Laing’s photographs are not digitally manipulated.

• Plate 3: Rosemary Laing, b. 1959, Australiaone dozen unnatural disasters in the Australian landscape #2, 2003 type-C photograph, 110 x 205.7 cm