Art Nouveau was a period of extensive imagination in the world of art and architecture. It is unique in character even by today’s standards. At the time of Art Nouveau’s arrival, the art realm was searching for a renewal. Many artists and architects were afraid that the quality of craft was becoming phased out to make way for mass production and industry. Modern materials in architecture, such as iron, were seen with much disdain because they represented the industrial and all that was against traditional architecture. Art Nouveau developed in spite of these accusations and introduced the world to a new interpretation of modern materials, and a modern architecture.
With the introduction of iron as a building material, architects weren’t sure how to approach it. There was a strong theme to hide the iron underneath of brick or stone cladding and other materials, shown in the Chicago Style. It was considered “Ugly.” However, the drawings and ideas of Viollet le Duc gave strong influence to the architects of the Art Nouveau Period. He portrayed iron, for the first time, as an exposed element in the architecture, despite the verbose criticism he received. During the brief decade of the Art Nouveau period, focus shifted towards an attempt to assimilate the exposure of iron into the architecture, this time using a different approach.
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During this period, three architects emerged. Their work became well known during this period of change, and is still influential today. The first is Victor Horta (1861-1947) an architect from Ghent, Belgium. His influential work is the epitome of Art Nouveau. The second is Hector Guimard, a French architect whose Art Nouveau architecture is still used today. Finally the third architect is Henry Van de Velde who’s work has been influential to the modern movement following. While their approaches are different, their work has shaped the Art Nouveau movement that we know today.
Victor Horta began his studies at the Ecole de Beaux Arts in Belgium. Despite his Beaux Art training, it is suggested that he had close ties with the Neomannerist Movement that was occurring at the time of his early career. This can best be seen in the symmetry of his façade of the Hôtel Tassel, his best-known work. The Hôtel Tassel is more famously recognized for its interior stairwells. It is considered the prime example of Art Nouveau architecture. Its forms show a beginning example of the idea of object and ornament merging. The design was a “total work of art” in every detail. The design took inspiration from the British Arts and Crafts movement occurring at the same time. Despite its first impression, Horta’s work was never viewed as theatrical. It always found a sense of formal order.
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| Victor Horta's Hotel Tassel. 1892-3. |
While it was Horta who showed this organic language in his work, Hector Guimard was the architect who truly defined the natural aspect of it. His works translated that organic language over into the use of iron. While Guimard’s architectural facades maintained a medieval character, his ironwork was divine. He expressed a more bulbous or swelling character. Guimard’s Parisian metropolitan entrances were the first true public expression of Art Nouveau. Horta was focused on creating these inwardly looking worlds within his residences. This seems ironic that Victor Horta was designing homes for the Belgian equivalent of the Parisian Bourgeoisie, while Guimard was in Paris designing public works in the middle of Haussmann’s newly transformed Bourgeoisie environment.
The total work of art would appear to be very time consuming; most likely explaining why Horta’s later works failed to capture the freshness of his early Art Nouveau structures. One could assume that the movement didn’t last more than a decade because of its demanding and time-consuming designs. This also explains the selectivity of it. It was very expensive to create and most Art Nouveau architects, such as Horta and Guimard were often commissioned by rich high socialites of that period. Guimard made an attempt to mass-produce his customized railings, but the designs were expensive and underwent continuous changes according to transgression into Art Nouveau. This gives more significance to the Parisian entrances, which can be shared by all classes in a public environment. This is much like the Victorian Arcades that were widely popular during that era. Many of which were located throughout Paris.
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| Hector Guimar's Parisian Metropolitan Entrance |
While Guimard was expressing himself through the means of iron, and Horta through his interior worlds, it was Van de Velde who attributed both of these ideas into his works. He was a painter who drew much inspiration from Gauguin and the impressionists. His work was more grounded and simple. He distinguished the difference between ornamentation and simply ornament. His work relates less to the periods leading up to Art Nouveau, as Guimard’s and Horta’s styles had, but more towards the periods following Art Nouveau. His work on De Boekentoren University Library shows early signs of focusing on daylighting schemes, and an open floor plan and grid function. This piece shows the transition into Bauhaus architecture derived from his work.
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| Renzo and Roger's Centre Pompidou. 1972-1976. |
Although the art Nouveau movement only lasted merely a decade, its influences are still highly viewed still today. With advances in technology comes a great creativeness in architecture, that is first seen in the Art Nouveau works. Throughout modern architecture, you can see a return to the organic appeal and the idea of merging ornamentation within form. Its few pieces are miniscule in physical monumentality, but expressive beyond the comprehension of any other architecture of that time.
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| Traditional Art Nouveau Artwork |
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You cover a lot of excellent points. The time-consuming nature of Art Nouveau is something which one never thinks about, although it seems obvious. Once again, you also do a great job of drawing connections to later architects.
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