THE ORIGINS OF ART NOUVEAU By Jean Lahor

The text “The Origins of Art Nouveau” talks about the Art Nouveau movement also known as the heart of renaissance which began as a movement emphasizing the change that was coming in the decorative arts in the western Europe after WWII. People began to get bored of the same old repetitive styles and wanted change. The feeling of nationalism also fueled the sentiment which called for independent art and craft styles. The English architecture was overrun with neoclassical styles, which pushed for change. The newer designs were inspired from flora and fauna and had elements of tracery, composition and arabesques. Though they took inspiration from the past but never copied it. Unlike English, Belgians were less conservative and disregarded any traditions, they were comfortable with discovering new and comfortable designs. The French artists were more passionate about flora and fauna retaining its grace and showed the figures to best advantage. The designers were able to produce dynamic new poetic effects in which shadow and light played a major role. Art Nouveau slowly spread around the world integrating with local colours and transforming itself reaching its pinnacle in 1900. But eventually it lost its lustre, becoming an elitist and expensive style. U21152