Art Nouveau

by Norbert Wolf

Now available in a new edition, this sumptuous volume explores key aspects of Art Nouveau—decorative arts, architecture, fashion, dance, advertising, and more—with an in-depth approach and stunning illustrations. The Art Nouveau movement became an international phenomenon at the beginning of the twentieth century that ushered in the era of modernity in almost every aspect of cultural life. For decades critics have argued that Art Nouveau was not an artistic period in its own right, but an amalgam of artists and styles that served as a bridge between neoclassicism and modernism. In this comprehensive, authoritative, and copiously illustrated book, art historian Norbert Wolf explores Art Nouveau as a logical outgrowth of the historic forces in which it arose. This book focuses on the movement's wide variety of applications and reclaims its prominence in the pantheon of modern art history. Chapters on aesthetics, spirituality, and the cult of beauty offer luminous examples of works by Mucha, Gaudí, Hoffmann, Klimt, Horta, Munch, and Tiffany, among many others. Wolf's text is both informed and accessible, providing an exciting narrative that brings the Art Nouveau movement into clear focus. Beautifully produced to appeal to a wide range of readers, this new edition gives one of the world's most popular styles the serious consideration it deserves.

Genres: Art, Historical, History, Nonfiction, Reference

304 pages, Hardcover

First published September 29, 2011

About the author

Norbert Wolf is an art historian and author based in Munich. He has published several books with Prestel, including "Art Nouveau", "Art Deco", "Impressionism", "Spanish Painting", and "The Golden Age of Dutch and Flemish Painting", as well as monographs on Albrecht Dürer and Titian.

Reviews

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

No question is that this book makes an impressive gift. The book is huge (not thick, rather the tallest among all art books I ever read), has a beautiful cover design, and gold trim. The page design (font, separators...) is good as well, with many full-color pictures. If you are just browsing the book looking at the abundant art pictures, it will look like a great book. The main problem is the text. The text is rather minimalistic and offers relatively light coverage of the subject. It is also not very systematic and informative. Chapters are a bit more like essays on separate topics. Narration is not always synchronized with the images. If it is your first and maybe the only book on Art Nouveau, you might not notice that you are not learning much, but if you read other books on the subject, you see that the writing is not a strong feature of the book. In summary - a good coffee table book for random browsing and showing your friends. For a systematic review and introduction, use other books, my favorite so far by Fahr-Becker.

[Servabo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Today the term avant-garde generally functions as a synonym for processes that radically broke down or break down the status quo in art.

In Art Nouveau ornamentation, the proliferation of blossoms, of the animated bodies and flowing hair of women were key. For many years, floral, plant-based, and biomorphic ornamentation served as a sign of Art Nouveau, not only as superficial decor but also as the figural form of works.

Spanish Art Nouveau - Modernisme - occurred not exclusively, but predominantly, in Barcelona. Barcelona developed into the center of a rapidly growing industrial region.

Walter Benjamin saw Art Nouveau as a conflict phenomenon of modernity, as a trend in which the 'outdated' art tradition stepped up for its last battle against the new - industrial and capitalistic - conditions and relations of production, in which it attempted to disguise the 'naked' and brutal reality of modern class-based society with elitist beauty. Benjamin saw its failure in this epochal conflict as pre-programmed: Art Nouveau's belief in having 'awakened,', of having arrived at, real life turns out to be a dream.

1) Edward Burne- Jones and William Morris - Pomona, 1885
2) Antoni Gaudi - Casa Vicens
3) Antoni Gaudi - Casa Batillo
4) Jules-Aime Lavirotte - Lavirotte Building, Paris

[Troy · Rating 3 out of 5]

As other reviews have noted, this book is lavish in its pictures, breathtaking in its scope...but light, SO LIGHT, on the writing. Very few other coffee table books of this size have the scope of the movement; furniture, architecture - but they might as well have scrapped the text for more pictures, for all the good the writing did for the understanding and context of the work.

[Jaimie · Rating 3 out of 5]

As much as I appreciated the grand overview of the Art Nouveau style that this book gives, once I hit the halfway point I found myself flagging in relation to the writing. Don't get me wrong; the reproductions are quite wonderfully done and the writing style isn't too academic, but I found myself feeling like the author was just listing names, dates, and places after a certain point. I'm very well versed in both Gustav Klimt, Alphonse Mucha, and the general outlines of art history, but trying to tackle multiple movements in multiple countries began to feel extremely overweighty. Next time I'll search out the individual artists.

[Neil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sumptuous. A beautiful book about the most beautiful school of art.