Art Rage Against The Machine. A short essay on Art Nouveau.

ART RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE A SHORT ESSAY ON ART NOUVEAU MARIA DEL CARMEN CORRAL LODEIRO BRITISH ACADEMY OF INTERIOR DESIGN 72546664

Speaking of Art Nouveau means referring to a cycle full of questions, inquiries, inconsistencies, dissatisfactions; reviewing and closing a century that ends and proposing alternatives for the one that begins.

Despite its short duration (approximately from 1890 to 1910) and the gap in time of almost a century, it is still a controversial and exciting phenomenon.

FIG 1. CENDRILLON, DEVAMBEZ, A 1889 [ILLUSTRATION]

FIG 3 VER SACRUM MAGAZINE, MOSER K 1901 [ILLUSTRATION]

THE STYLE

The term Art Nouveau was developed in Belgium around 1880 to describe the work of a group of artists called ''Les Vingt'' whose aim was to reform the arts and society as a whole. Mention to “Art Nouveau” first appeared in 1884 in the Belgian literary review l'Art Moderne to designate those who repudiated historicism, "believers in art nouveau”. This movement was called Art Nouveau in France, while in the rest of Europe it received other names depending on the territory, such as: in Spain it received the name of "modernism" and locally in Catalonia "modernisme"; in Italy it was called Arte Libero, Liberty or floreale (it receives its name for all the products sold in Liberty & Co.), in England Modern Style, in Germany Jugendstil, in Austria Sezessionstil. Some 2

FIG 4. PROPHETESS, MUCHA, A. 1896 [ PAINTING]

Alfons Mucha was not only a valuable and internationally recognized painter, his creativity was developed through painting, book illustration, posters, Fouquet jewelry design, furniture design, interior design, tableware and cutlery design, lamps, photography etc..

Unquestionably it is thanks to figures like Alfons Mucha that the basis for the formation and cultural artistic creation that would be developed in the 20th century was built, since they would lay the foundations on which all the artistic movements of the 20th century would arise.

There is no doubt that we are dealing with an artistic legacy of incalculable value.

regions that stand out for the great development of Modernism in their territory are Catalonia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Finland, Glasgow or Nancy, the latter two being the headquarters of two schools that will develop their own style in influences on the artists of the time. (V&A Museum, 2019) Despite the desire for rupture and stylistic innovation, Art Nouveau is a product of its time, and is influenced by its geographical environment and its recent past. The complexity of this period and its movement have given rise to contradictory interpretations: because of its decoration, some observers consider Art Nouveau to be the expression of the decline of the 19th century;(See fig 3, Moser, K .1901) others, however, due to Art Nouveau's search for aesthetic and spiritual values, see it as a reaction against the decline and materialism of the period, marked by a drastic mechanisation of the production processes that threatened traditional craftsmanship and imposed mass production. In this context of disorder and existential crisis, Art Nouveau functions as an entrance door that connects the past and the future. Concerning this point, Philip Meggs states that:

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FIG 5 CABAGGE AND WINE TAPESTRY,MORRIS, W. . 1876 [TAPESTRY]

FIG 7. BROOCH, LALIQUE.1900

FIG 6 SCREEN JOHN HENRY DEARLE. 1885 [PHOTOGRAPH]

“Art Nouveau is the style of transition that deviated from the historicism that dominated design during most of the 19th century. On the other hand... by replacing historicism with innovation, Art Nouveau became the initial phase of the modern movement. It paved the way for the 20th century by eliminating the decadent spirit of design�

(Meggs, 1991, p. 246).

Art Nouveau is influenced by the Arts and Crafts movement, which in its conception of Total Art seeks to do away with the traditional hierarchy of the arts. In this way, painting, architecture or sculpture are paired with craftsmanship or fine arts, furniture design, , jewellery, goldsmithing or ironwork. (See figs. 5, 6 &7)

They will also inherit from the Pre-Raphaelite movement a search for mystic and languid women's 4

FIG 8 WATERHOUSE, J.W ( 1903) THE SPIRIT OF A ROSE [PAINTING]

FIG 10 YAMAMOTO,S. (1906), FLOWER VILLAGE, [ENGRAVING]

FIG 9 VICTOR HORTA, (1893), HOTEL TASSEL STAIRCASE [PHOTOGRAPH]

imagery (See Fig 4 on page 3 , Mucha, A. 1896 and Fig. 8 Waterhouse,1903) and the Japanese engraving graphic style.(iFg 10, Yamamoto,S , 1906) The French Symbolism on literature will have a strong influence.

Over a long period of time, art historians have come up to Art Nouveau in an antagonistic manner: Conceptually, it has been considered a revolution to the classical model of creative art or an elitist tantrum in opposition to the art establishment, depending on who is consulted. In a for-

mal way, two principles would clash: one based on the straight line, the Mackintosch school and the other in curvy and undulating lines, such as the Style of the Ecole de Nancy or the singular style of GaudĂ­ in Barcelona. But it is not so easy to contextualize works within a specific style, since several influences can merge in the same artist, let's see Victor Horta as an example, (Fig 9 Horta V, 1893) where florality and constructive tendency are combined.

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FIG 11 GAUDÍ, A., (1906), CASA BATLLÓ PHOTO: MELA CORRAL [PHOTOGRAOPH]

Despite the fact that it is currently still framed in Modernism, many art academics regard Gaudí's work as unparalleled and challenging to frame in any style at all. This refusal to accept stylistic labels was shared by Frank Lloyd Wright. Gaudí was just “Gaudinian". (Corral, M. 2019)

As we can see, Art Nouveau is a very individualized movement, since the different architects involved in this period show their own personality in their works. (See fig. 11 Gaudí, 1906) This, together with internationalism and the different local features of the movement, led to a lack of continuity of this style, which after the First World War ceased to be interesting for the general public and was replaced by the glamorous Art Deco of the 1920s, modernism and its rejection of the ornament defended from the Viena Sezessionstil by Alfred Loos in "Ornament and Crime”, and Dorothy Draper's designs that succeeded in Hollywood.

As Lara-Vinca states, the expressions presented by Art Nouveau are as many and as diverse as the number of artists who were involved in it.

On the basis of a series of ideas and ideals it could crystallize as a homogeneous style, but it did not find its means of expression precisely in uniformity, but in multiplicity. (Lara-Vinca, 1984)

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FIG 12 UNKNOWN, (CA.1900),LA BELLE ÉPOQUE [PHOTOGRAPH]

THE CONTEXT

Art Nouveau´s bloom coincided with the brilliant European Belle Époque that preceded the First World War, a time of optimism in science and technology, relative economic prosperity, creativity in art and culture -symbolism in literature, Wagnerian tendencies in music, the influence of Nietzsche on philosophy-, and social consciousness.

Art Nouveau was born in the midst of a major socio-economic transition that had its roots in the shifts that Europe witnessed since the French Revolution and the boom of the middle class from the hands of the industrial revolution. The middle class was the most favoured social class and imposed a new way of life, chan7

FIG 13 UNKNOWN, (1913 )KRUPP RHEINHAUSEN FACTORY [PHOTOGRAPH]

FIG 15 UNKNOWN., (CA. 1900),WORKING CLASS NEIGHBOURHOOD [PHOTOGRAPH]

FIG 16 UNKNOWN., (CA. 1900),LINDSAY FAMILY ABOUT 190D

FIG 14 CHAPPLE, A., (2015),BARCELONA [PHOTOGRAPH]

ge of lifestyle and the appearance of new social and moral values, concerning property, savings, work and family. The burgeois established an ideal for some or an unattainable reference for others, although, over time, new values and mores arose within the working classes that would confront those of the bourgeoisie. (Montagut Contreras, E., 2014.) The industrial revolution not only brought a technological revolution by the hand, but it was also felt in the countryside, by mechanizing the work. (Castilla, A., 2018) The substitution of man by machine caused the exodus to the cities of all the surplus labor from the countryside. Soon employers saw the urgent need to create accommodations for their workers, thus creating a new urban layout that updated the still medieval that many cities had in the nineteenth century. An example are the works of the Eixample in Barcelona (See Fig 14, Chapple, 2015), designed by Ildefonso Cerdå, and which created new blocks of new buildings and neighbourhoods. In Georgian and Victorian times these new neighbourhoods were seen, but is now, at the dawn of the 20th century when it´s urgent to create regulations describing minimum requirements of habitability and healthiness, to avoid the high incidence of diseases among the lower classes, to tackle a very high infant mortality ra8

FIG 17, CORRAL, M, (2019),CASA MILÁ BATHROOM [PHOTOGRAPH]

In the 19th Century, even the houses of the nobility, including the royal mansions, were not equipped with bathtubs or tubs.

When Queen Victoria I of England (1819-1901) came to the throne in 1837 there was not a single bathtub in Buckingham Palace.

However, a few decades later, in 1868, Benjamin Maugham invented the hot gas bath, and everything suggested that the bath would become popular, but an unfortunate day the heater exploded and sent a bathtub and swimmer to the other side of the room, where they were landed immersed in perplexity. People didn't want to hear about such a gadget and preferred to buy the hot water sold door-to-door. (curiosfera, 2019)

te that in some cases such as that of Madrid sunk the demographic curve in an alarming way, (Huertas, R. 2002) and of course, to shut the door on epidemics such as those that in the past attacked the population centres of Europe again. An important investment was made in infrastructure and public works to provide cities with lighting and water supply and sewerage, the first fire insurance companies for housing and regulations in this area arose. (Hernando, M., 2016) The hygienist currents of this period influenced the transfer of the bathroom to the interior of the houses, thus helping to introduce a change of mentality with respect to the corporal hygiene. (Inter-companies. 2018.). As a response to these requirements, the first Social Housing Law arose in Holland in 1901 under the name of Woningwet, with the clear objective of regularizing an optimal and rational use of land through urban planning, together with an improvement in the quality of housing associated with conditions of hygiene and ventilation (Eduardo Zenteno, (2012), We already see this concern for social housing in Vitruvius who wrote in book II of “De Arquitectura”, a description of housing ideal conditions and its adaptation to the categories of its owners or dwellers, materialised in the different typologies such as the domus, the insulae, the tugurium or the palace.Designing is solving problems, the past of interior design and furniture can give us those solutions, the same or 9

FIG 18 WIKIPEDIA COMMONS, (2019),ILLA DE LA DISCORDIA [PHOTOGRAPH]

similar problem, the same or similar solution. Art Nouveau reflects these needs of society and social orientations are manifested in public works such as theatres, public lighting, or new cinemas, for example. Gradually, all new constructions were incorporating these new characteristics and city regulations.

However, the most elaborate ornaments, furniture and Art Nouveau design remain only within the reach of the wealthiest pockets as a symbol of their socio-economic position, once again confining art and design within the circle of high society. This patronage of the wealthy classes turned Art Nouveau into a luxury item that the members of the high society of the time used as an example of their economic power. A very illustrative example of this is the so-called "Apple of Discord" in Barcelona.(See Fig 18, Wikimedia Commons 2019) The name refers to the wedding of Peleo and Tetis in Greek mythology. It´s the

housing block located in Passeig de Gràcia, between the streets Aragó and Consell de Cent, and it is a sample of the contrasts of the different architectural tendencies of the moment. (note he parallelism offered by the fact that in the Greek episode the symbol is an apple and here we speak of a block of houses.) At number 35 of this street we find the house Lleó Morera, by Domènech i Montaner, a little further on, we find the Casa Amatller designed by Puig i Cadafalch and the Casa Batlló, the work of Gaudí. (Casa Batlló 2019)

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Similarities have been found between this episode and the rivalry between the architects of modernism and, in fact, its owners for having the most beautiful building in the aforementioned block of houses on Paseo de Gracia, also mentioned in Secondary research (Task 1) The owners invested absurd amounts of money in works, materials and the very last home improvemets technologies. There was no impossible work or high enough bill.

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FIG 19 CHARLES RENNIE MACKINTOSH & MARGARET MACDONALD, “SALONTTINO DELLE ROSE'� TURIN, 1902 [ILLUSTRATION]

THE LEGACY INTERIOR DESIGN AS AN INDEPENDENT DISCIPLINE.

More than 100 years have gone and thanks to the innovations introduced at that time and the development of regulations, the housing conditions of millions of people were substantially improved. Once again, designers and architects are trying to respond to this demand from society. Interior designers work together with architects to create pleasant and functional residential spaces adapted to the housing needs of new types of families or people living alone, all in areas increasingly reduced by the rise in land prices. The gender perspective is being implemented in the approach to new housing, concerning to protection and visibility in access to housing, a new use of space in housing that promotes equality, home chores sharing and interpersonal communica12

FIG 20 ,GENEVA WIRTZ 2019 GROPIUS HOUSE [PHOTOGRAPH]

tion. (Ayuntamiento de Fuenlabrada, C., 2007. ) However, we are seeing again how new models of substandard housing begin to flourish, linked to the technological revolution and to the displacement of thousands of people to the hubs of technological development. Art Nouveau's importance lies in the fact that the interior is given real importance for the first time. Architects such as Victor Horta, GaudĂ­, Mackintosh...(Page 11 Fig 19 Mackintosh & MacDonald, 1901) from their offices and architectural studios gave equal or more weight to the interior of their buildings rather than to the outside. From this moment on, both disciplines will walk together and already with the advance of the 20th century, architecture and interior design become confused. Architects such as Walter Gropius (creator of the Bauhaus), Mies Van der Rohe, Le Corbusier... design exteriors, interiors and furniture for their projects, combining all the elements involved in the conception of the development of the project.

(See Fig 20 Wirtz, G. 2019) It will be from the thirties when in the United States, industrial designers and interior designers will appear and from their design studios will make interior projects.

Designers and interior designers such as Dorothy Draper or Billy Haines will give the discipline a name and highlight the relevance of interior design. (SĂĄnchez-Cascado, F., 2016.)

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FIG. 21 HAYNE PALMOUR IV/SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE(2015), FLORENCE & THE MACHINE US TOUR 2015 [PHOTOGRAPH].

FIG 22 ALFONS MUCHA (1898), DANCE [ILLUSTRATION].

If we look at the past and analyse the period in which Art Nouveau developed, we find many parallels between that not-so-distant period and the present, since fashions have changed, technology has evolved, the geopolitical scenario is different, but the problems are getting very similar. From the temporal distance we can state that Art Nouveau, with its cheerful and floral style, wanted to verbalise through its designs a war cry against the dictatorship of the machine and a convulsed world that was heading in an uncertain and undiscovered path. His present-day presence in graphic design, photography and fashion is perhaps not casual.Art nouveau is back on the stage to tell us that, indeed, there is another way of living.

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REFERENCES

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

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V&A Museum. 2019. Art Nouveau. An international style. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/art-nouveau-an-in ternational-style. [Accessed 23 August 2019].

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Montagut Contreras, E., 2014. La aristocracia y la burguesía en el siglo XIX. Los ojos de Hipatia, [Online]. Available at: https://losojosdehipatia.com.es/cultura/historia/la -aristocracia-y-la-burguesia-en-el-siglo-xix/ [Accessed 4 October 2019].

Vitruvius, M. L.«De la forma de las casas, según la diversa categoría de las personas», cap. VIII, Book VI. : Los diez libros de arquitectura. Barcelona, Iberia, 1997, pages. 152-154.

Huertas, R. 2002 Vivir y morir en Madrid: la vivienda como factor determinante del estado de salud de la población madrileña (1874-1923) p 254 . Asclepio-Vol. LIV-2-2002 , Available at: http://asclepio.revistas.csic.es/index.php/asclepi o/article/viewFile/150/147 [Accessed 04 October 2019].

Zenteno, E. (2012) La evolución del espacio residencial en Europa (1900-1929) Origen de la Vivienda como objeto de estudio . Escuela de Arquitectura Usach, Edicion primavera 2012, pag 36.)

Interempresas. 2018. Evolución histórica de los espacios de baño en la vivienda. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.interempresas.net/Instaladores/Artic ulos/214047-Evolucion-historica-de-los-espacios -de-bano-en-la-vivienda.html. [Accessed 5 October 2019].

Sánchez-Cascado, F., 2016. Evolution de los estudios de interiorismo. Tiovivo creativo, [Online].Available at: https://www.tiovivocreativo.com/blog/arquitectura /evolucion-de-los-estudios-de-interiorismo/ [Accessed 4 October 2019].

Ayuntamiento de Fuenlabrada, C., 2007. “VIVIENDAS QUE CONCILIAN: LA PERSPECTIVA DE GÉNERO APLICADA A LAS VIVIENDAS DE NUEVA CONSTRUCCIÓN”. Secretaría de Mujer, Juventud e Infancia, [Online]. 1, 17-37. Available at: http://www.ayto-fuenlabrada.es/recursos/doc/SC/ Mujer_juventud_infancia/Mujer/19606_19519520 11191136.pdf [Accessed 5 October 2019].

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Hernando, M., 2016. Casas "aseguradas de incendios". Secretos de Madrid, [Online]. Available at: http://www.secretosdemadrid.es/casas-asegurad as-de-incendios/ [Accessed 4 October 2019]

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IMAGES

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André Victor Devambez, (1889), Cendrillon, colour lithography [Illustration].

Available at: http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O729924/cendrillon-poster-andrevictor-devambez/ [Accessed 6 October 2019].

Koloman Moser, (1901), Front page of Ver Sacrum magazine. [Illustration].

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Alfons Mucha, (1896), Prophetess [Painting]. Available at: https:// uploads0.wikiart.org/images/alphonse-mucha/prophetess-1896.jpg!

PinterestSmall.jpg [Accessed 6 October 2019].

William Morris, (1879), Cabbage and wine tapestry [Tapestry]. Available at: https://uploads6.wikiart.org/images/william-morris/cabbage-and-vinetapestry-1879.jpg!PinterestSmall.jpg [Accessed 6 October 2019].

V&A Museum, (2019), Photo of Screen, designed by John Henry Dearle, manufactured by Morris & Co., 1885 – 1910, England. Museum no.

CIRC.848-1956. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London Screen, designed by John Henry Dearle, manufactured by Morris & Co. [Photograph]. Available at: https://vanda-production-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/ 2018/02/26/16/32/00/46b9ce3b-97ea-474d-b074-20fdd20dee6e/1920.jpg [Accessed 6 October 2019].

Christie´s, (2019), An Art Nouveau opal and enamel brooch, Rene Lalique, ca.1900 [ONLINE]. Available at: http://www.christies.com/img/LotImages/2017/ GNV/2017_GNV_15697_0001_000.jpg?w=780 [Accessed 6 October 2019].

John William Waterhouse, (1903), Spirit of a rose [Painting]. Available at: https:// es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archivo:John_William_Waterhouse__The_Soul_of_the_Rose,_1903.jpg [Accessed 6 October 2019].

Victor Horta, (1893), Hotel Tassel staircase [Photograph]. Available at: http:// 2.bp.blogspot.com/_KN-2jQImqk4/TSACCMX-RhI/AAAAAAAAAB0/ trOI0uRsZMs/s1600/Victor+Horta.jpg [Accessed 6 October 2019].

Yamamoto Shoun, (1906), Flower village [Engraving]. Available at: https://ukiyoe.org/image/jaodb/Shoun_Yamamoto-Fashions_of_TodayFlower_Village-00041396-080530-F06 [Accessed 6 October 2019].

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Antonio Gaudí (1906) Casa Batlló. Photo by Mela Corral (2019)

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Unknown, (1900), La belle époque [Photograph]. Available at: https:// www.laguia2000.com/europa/la-belle-epoque [Accessed 6 October 2019]

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Unknown, (1913), Krupp factory in Rheinhausen [Photograph]. Available at: https:// cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1021/8371/products/LAM1_024_37192294-2342-43e0bda3-6fc3a1032129.jpg?v=1559828214 [Accessed 6 October 2019].

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Amos Chapple, (2015), Barcelona [Photograph]. Available at: http:// www.amoschapplephoto.com/air/ [Accessed 6 October 2019].

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Antonio Gaudí (1912) Casa Milá. Photo by Mela Corral (2019)

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Wikipedia Commons, (2019), Illa de la discordia, Passeig de Grácia [Photograph]. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ File:Illa_de_la_Discòrdia.jpg [Accessed 6 October 2019].

Charles Rennie Mackintosh & Frances Macdonald, (1901), 'Salonttino Delle Rose' [Illustration]. Available at: http://www.scotcities.com/mackintosh/ designer.htm [Accessed 6 October 2019].

Geneva Wirtz, (2019), Gropius House, Walter Gropius [Photograph]. Available at: https://www.archdaily.com/118207/ad-classics-gropius-house-walter-gropius/ 503804bf28ba0d599b00094f-ad-classics-gropius-house-walter-gropius-photo? next_project=no [Accessed 6 October 2019].

Hayne Palmour IV/San Diego Union-Tribune(2015), Florence & The Machine US tour 2015 [Photograph]. Available at: https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/ default/936c20c/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1023x575+0+0/resize/840x472!/ quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcatimes.brightspotcdn.com%2F84%2Fae%2F91f7bf54521324c8ee3c8fc05106% 2Fsd-1526963606-pj2uz9dw94-snap-image[Accessed 3 August 2019].

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“I BELIEVE, HOWEVER, THAT PEOPLE, AS CRANES, EMIGRATE INTO PROGRESS.” JULIAN MARCHLEWSKY