The Age of Expression ¦ The Art Nouveau Period.

[jones jones]

There is no space here to include images even if i could ... however in order to really appreciate the true beauty of Art Nouveau it must be seen ... so if your interested take a look on the internet ... especially images of the jewellery ... glass and sculptures ...

The Art Nouveau period was a brief decade and a half from 1890 to about 1905 yet this belies its importance ¦ the sinuous swirls and flourishes that characterised it vanished rapidly at the beginning of the 20th century ¦ yet the stress on the importance of design and the development of artists as designers continues to influence the appearance of the everyday world ¦

The artistic expression of life in the 19th century gave birth to Art Nouveau ¦ new art in every sense of the word ¦ as early as 1884 two Belgium lawyers Octave Maus and Edmond Picard coined the phrase ¦ even so its origins can be traced to Britain but the 1890’s saw the evolving in France of Art Nouveau and this was particularly so in Paris and Nancy ¦

The greatest piece of architectural Art Nouveau to be found anywhere is the famous and daring creation for the 1889 Paris Exhibition ¦ the Eiffel Tower ¦

Personally I do not like the furniture of this period probably because it is so prohibitively expensive and in my opinion very little of it is worth the prices being asked ¦ in Britain only Liberty and the famous Mackintosh furniture can compare with the originality of the French and other European designs ¦

To me it is in the design and manufacture of glass ¦ decorative sculptures and jewellery where the true beauty of the Art Nouveau period can be found¦.

The Frenchman Emile Galle was considered a master craftsman even in his own lifetime and his cameo glass is the most beautiful ever produced¦ the Daum brothers August & Antonin were rivals to Galle but were never able to produce the extraordinarily beauty in their work that Galle’s creations had ¦ nevertheless cameo glass vases and lamps by either of these master craftsmen are sought after and very very valuable ¦

Tiffany rivalled Galle as a craftsman in glass and his method of selling was idiosyncratic so say the least ¦ Tiffany lamps for example were never sold to retailers and every piece remained his property until sold ¦ anything not sold after three months was returned to the factory and Tiffany would either give it to a friend or it was destroyed despite their selling price of $750 which in the 1900’s was a small fortune ¦ all Tiffany leaded glass lampshades carry a small copper tab soldered to the inside at the bottom of the rim ¦ it bears the words “Tiffany Studios New York ¦ lamp bases made before 1900 have the monogram TGDCo and a serial number ¦

However in my opinion it is in the field of jewellery that the real beauty and splendour of Art Nouveau can be seen ¦ the great revolutionary designer of this type of jewellery was Rene Lalique ¦ his designs were totally uninhibited and broke with traditional rules of design¦

Jewellery in gold¦ enamels and metallic paint on ivory and hung with baroque pearls are among the most beautiful ever created ¦

“Eve ¦ a pendant designed in 1901 by phillipe wolfe with opals ¦ diamonds ¦ emeralds and pearls set in gold is a creation that is breathtakingly beautiful ¦

Art Nouveau has a dedicated following around the world and today it is an extremely popular collecting style that is no longer “that strange curious style our continental friends enjoy as it was called when it first appeared on the scene!

[RedGlitter]

The greatest piece of architectural Art Nouveau to be found anywhere is the famous and daring creation for the 1889 Paris Exhibition ¦ the Eiffel Tower ¦




Hey I didn't know that! I love your antiques threads. Always something to learn from them.

[Nomad]

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