Art Nouveau in Paris  

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The Art Nouveau movement of architecture and design flourished in Paris from about 1895 to 1914, reaching its high point at the 1900 Paris International Exposition. with the Art Nouveau metro stations designed by Hector Guimard. It was characterized by a rejection of historicism and traditional architectural forms, and a flamboyant use of floral and vegetal designs, sinuous curving lines such as the whiplash line, and asymmetry. It was most prominent in architecture, appearing in department stores, apartment buildings, and churches; and in the decorative arts, particularly glassware, furniture, and jewelry. Besides Guimard, major artists included René Lalique in glassware, Louis Majorelle in furniture, and Alphonse Mucha in graphic arts, It spread quickly to other countries, but lost favor after 1910 and came to an end with the First World War.

History

The Maison de l'Art Nouveau (1895)

Art Nouveau had first appeared in Brussels, in houses completed in 1893 by Victor Horta, Paul Hankar, and Henry van de Velde, but it quickly appeared in other forms in Paris. It was introduced by the Franco-German art dealer and publisher Siegfried Bing, who wished to break down the barriers between traditional museum art and decorative art. In 1891, he had founded a magazine devoted to the art of Japan, which helped publicize Japonism in Europe. In 1892, he organized an exhibit of seven artists, among them Pierre Bonnard, Félix Vallotton, Édouard Vuillard, Toulouse-Lautrec and Eugène Grasset which included both more traditional gallery paintings and paintings designed especially for decoration. The Swiss–French artist Grasset was already making early posters in the Art Nouveau style in 1893.

In 1895, Bing opened a new gallery at 22 rue de Provence in Paris, the Maison de l'Art Nouveau, devoted to works in both the fine and decorative arts. The interior and furniture of the gallery were designed by the Belgian architect Henry van de Velde. The Maison de l'Art Nouveau showed paintings by Georges Seurat, Paul Signac and Toulouse-Lautrec, glass from Louis Comfort Tiffany and Émile Gallé, jewelry by René Lalique, and posters by Aubrey Beardsley. Bing wrote in 1902, "Art Nouveau, at the time of its creation, did not aspire in any way to have the honor of becoming a generic term. It was simply the name of a house opened as a rallying point for all the young and ardent artists impatient to show the modernity of their tendencies."Template:Sfn

A change in the municipal laws and the Facade competition (1898–1902)

One great limitation on the architecture of Paris at the end of the 19th century was a law, dating to the 1607 but still in effect in 1900, limitling the height and ornament on the facades and forbidding any elements of architecture that protruded over the sidewalk below. This was done to allow greater light to the narrow streets and to prevent pieces of masonry falling on the street below. Exceptions were often made, but the law greatly limited the freedom of architects. In 1902 the director of public works of Paris, Louis Bonnier, announced a reform of the law, which followed the model of other European cities. The new rules, put into effect in 1902, used proportionality as the standard; the wider the street, the higher the buildings could be, and the more variety of architecture and ornament the architects could use on the facade. Even before that, to encourage greater creativity, the City of Paris decided to hold a competition for the six most original facades. beginning with buildings completed in 1898. One of the winners in 1898 was Hector Guimard's Castel Béranger, the first Art Nouveau residence in Paris. Template:Sfn

The Paris Universal Exposition (1900)

The Paris Universal Exposition of 1900 marked the summit of Art Nouveau in Paris, bringing together many of the artists and designers who pioneered the style, and making the style known to the forty-eight million visitors to the Exposition. Art Nouveau architecture was highlighted in the interiors of the two major pavilions of fine arts, the Grand Palais and the Petit Palais. It was also prominent in the Palace of Decorative Arts, where works of Louis Majorelle and René Lalique, Daum, and other French designers were displayed. The Paris Métro, completed shortly after the Exposition opened, featured the Art Nouveau edicules designed for the stations by Hector Guimard.