Art Nouveau architecture

Art Nouveau architecture

(1880–1910)A movement in European architecture and applied arts, developed principally in France and Belgium, characterized by flowing and sinuous organic and dynamic forms, naturalistic ornament and a strict avoidance of any historical traits. Other names for the style include Le Modern Style (France); Jugendstil (Germany), after the German term for youth style; Stile Liberty (Italy), named after the Liberty and Company store in London; Modernismo (Spain); and Sezession (Austria), named after its proponents seceded from the Academy of Art in Vienna. The style drew primarily on Baroque, Gothic and Moorish traditions, but was mainly unbounded by rules. Art Nouveau exploited the machine and reveled in the possibilities of decorative tiles and wrought iron. This was a deliberate attempt to put an end to imitations of past styles. In its place was a free type of architecture that integrated arts and crafts and architectural forms.