In its sinuous lines and flamboyant curves inspired by the natural world, antique Art Nouveau furniture reflects a desire for freedom from the stuffy social and artistic strictures of the Victorian era. The Art Nouveau movement developed in the decorative arts in France and Britain in the early 1880s and quickly became a dominant aesthetic style in Western Europe and the United States.
ORIGINS OF ART NOUVEAU FURNITURE DESIGN
CHARACTERISTICS OF ART NOUVEAU FURNITURE DESIGN
ART NOUVEAU FURNITURE DESIGNERS TO KNOW
ANTIQUE ART NOUVEAU FURNITURE ON 1STDIBS
Art Nouveau — which spanned furniture, architecture, jewelry and graphic design — can be easily identified by its lush, flowing forms suggested by flowers and plants, as well as the lissome tendrils of sea life. Although Art Deco and Art Nouveau were both in the forefront of turn-of-the-20th-century design, they are very different styles — Art Deco is marked by bold, geometric shapes while Art Nouveau incorporates dreamlike, floral motifs. The latter’s signature motif is the "whiplash" curve — a deep, narrow, dynamic parabola that appears as an element in everything from chair arms to cabinetry and mirror frames.
The visual vocabulary of Art Nouveau was particularly influenced by the soft colors and abstract images of nature seen in Japanese art prints, which arrived in large numbers in the West after open trade was forced upon Japan in the 1860s. Impressionist artists were moved by the artistic tradition of Japanese woodblock printmaking, and Japonisme — a term used to describe the appetite for Japanese art and culture in Europe at the time — greatly informed Art Nouveau.
The Art Nouveau style quickly reached a wide audience in Europe via advertising posters, book covers, illustrations and other work by such artists as Aubrey Beardsley, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Alphonse Mucha. While all Art Nouveau designs share common formal elements, different countries and regions produced their own variants.
In Scotland, the architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh developed a singular, restrained look based on scale rather than ornament; a style best known from his narrow chairs with exceedingly tall backs, designed for Glasgow tea rooms. Meanwhile in France, Hector Guimard — whose iconic 1896 entry arches for the Paris Metro are still in use — and Louis Majorelle produced chairs, desks, bed frames and cabinets with sweeping lines and rich veneers.
The Art Nouveau movement was known as Jugendstil ("Youth Style") in Germany, and in Austria the designers of the Vienna Secession group — notably Koloman Moser, Josef Hoffmann and Joseph Maria Olbrich — produced a relatively austere iteration of the Art Nouveau style, which mixed curving and geometric elements.
Art Nouveau revitalized all of the applied arts. Ceramists such as Ernest Chaplet and Edmond Lachenal created new forms covered in novel and rediscovered glazes that produced thick, foam-like finishes. Bold vases, bowls and lighting designs in acid-etched and marquetry cameo glass by Émile Gallé and the Daum Freres appeared in France, while in New York the glass workshop-cum-laboratory of Louis Comfort Tiffany — the core of what eventually became a multimedia decorative-arts manufactory called Tiffany Studios — brought out buoyant pieces in opalescent favrile glass.
Jewelry design was revolutionized, as settings, for the first time, were emphasized as much as, or more than, gemstones. A favorite Art Nouveau jewelry motif was insects (think of Tiffany, in his famed Dragonflies glass lampshade).
Like a mayfly, Art Nouveau was short-lived. The sensuous, languorous style fell out of favor early in the 20th century, deemed perhaps too light and insubstantial for European tastes in the aftermath of World War I. But as the designs on 1stDibs demonstrate, Art Nouveau retains its power to fascinate and seduce.
There are ways to tastefully integrate a touch of Art Nouveau into even the most modern interior — browse an extraordinary collection of original antique Art Nouveau furniture on 1stDibs, which includes decorative objects, seating, tables, garden elements and more.
Door Handle model "Calvet" by Antoni Gaudi Polished Solid Brass 20th Century
By Antoni Gaudí
Located in Barcelona, ES
Before reissuing Gaudí’s furniture, BD, together with the architect David Ferrer, faithfully reproduced some of the metalwork pieces designed by Gaudí between 1902 and 1910 for Casa ...
Brass
Door Knob in Solid Brass Milà No.1 by Antoni Gaudi
By Antoni Gaudí, BD Art Editions, BD Barcelona Design
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Door knob in solid brass Milà no.1 by Antoni Gaudi Materials: Brass Dimensions: D 6 cm x W 6 cm x H 10 cm. Solid cast brass with polished finish. About item: A co...
Brass
Polished Solid Brass Batlló Door Handle by Antoni Gaudi, Individual Item
By Antoni Gaudí, BD Art Editions, BD Barcelona Design
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Polished Solid Brass Batlló door handle by Antoni Gaudi - individual item Materials: Brass Dimensions: D 4 cm x W 10 cm x H 15 cm. Solid cast brass with polished fini...
Brass
Polished Solid Brass Batlló Butterfly Knob fix by Antoni Gaudi
By Antoni Gaudí
Located in Barcelona, ES
Solid cast brass with polished finish. A company that has always attributed such great importance to the author of the designs could never forget the great figures in history. That is why the BD catalogue of contemporary creations has always included those by admired classical masters. Antoni Gaudí (1852/1926) is, without doubt, the most internationally well-known Spanish architect. But is not only his buildings and brilliant architectural solutions that have travelled the globe. His integrated conception of architecture led him to pay attention, not only to structural calculations, but also to all the decorative elements, including furniture, that would form part of the building. The admiration felt by modern designers for the furniture designed by Gaudí has not gone unnoticed by BD which was the first company to rescue them from history by embarking on their serial production using...
Brass
Door knob mdoel "Milà no.4" by Antoni Polished Brass Gaudi 20th Century Design
By Antoni Gaudí
Located in Barcelona, ES
Solid cast brass with polished finish. Antoni Gaudí (1852 - 1926) is among the most internationally famous Spanish architects, his unorthodox approach is still considered ground-bre...
Brass
Large Art Nouveau Bronze Pair of Push and Pull Door Handles
Located in London, GB
Art Nouveau push and pull door handles in the shape of two water nymphs, originally from spa in the Alps. Original large handles express the water nymphs carrying water jugs on their...
Bronze
Milà no.1 Antoni Gaudi, Door Knob, Solid Brass model, Spanish Modernism
By Antoni Gaudí
Located in Barcelona, ES
Solid cast brass with polished finish. A company that has always attributed such great importance to the author of the designs could never forget the great figures in history. That ...
Brass
"Milà no.1" Door knob, Antoni Gaudi, Solid Brass, Spanish Modernism
By Antoni Gaudí
Located in Barcelona, ES
Solid cast brass with polished finish. A company that has always attributed such great importance to the author of the designs could never forget the great figures in history. That ...
Brass
Antoni Gaudi, Mila no.4 Door Know, Polished Brass, 20th Century
By Antoni Gaudí
Located in Barcelona, ES
Solid cast brass with polished finish. Antoni Gaudí (1852 - 1926) is among the most internationally famous Spanish architects, his unorthodox approach is still considered ground-bre...
Brass
Door knob in solid brass model "Milà no.1" by Antoni Gaudi 20th century Spanish
By Antoni Gaudí
Located in Barcelona, ES
Solid cast brass with polished finish. A company that has always attributed such great importance to the author of the designs could never forget the great figures in history. That is why the BD catalogue of contemporary creations has always included those by admired classical masters. Antoni Gaudí (1852/1926) is, without doubt, the most internationally well-known Spanish architect. But is not only his buildings and brilliant architectural solutions that have travelled the globe. His integrated conception of architecture led him to pay attention, not only to structural calculations, but also to all the decorative elements, including furniture, that would form part of the building. The admiration felt by modern designers for the furniture designed by Gaudí has not gone unnoticed by BD which was the first company to rescue them from history by embarking on their serial production using...
Brass
Early 20th Century Pine Door with Glass
Located in Dusseldorf, DE
A Art Nouveau door from the early 20th century. Solidly crafted in softwood. Frame and panelled construction with ribbed glass and large iron fittings. Dimensions: 220 cm high / ...
Glass, Pine
Early 20th Century Double Door made of Pine
Located in Dusseldorf, DE
Pine wood double door from Switzerland. Early 20th century. Unrestored. Consisting of two originally half-glazed doors in frame and panelled construc...
Pine
$7,530Sale Price|20% Off
Wooden Double Door Portal in Art Nouveau Style, Spain
Located in Vulpellac, Girona
19th century wooden double door portal in Art Nouveau style from Catalonien, Spain. Each door has 2 lateral pivots to be embedded in the stone. The original patina of this Portal a...
Wood
$5,647Sale Price|20% Off
Wooden Double Front Door in Art Nouveau Style
Located in Vulpellac, Girona
19th century double wooden front door with patina in Art Nouveau style from Catalonien, Spain. Carved wood typical from this period. The door is f...
Wood
$5,647Sale Price|20% Off
Wooden Double Front Door in Art Nouveau Style
Located in Vulpellac, Girona
19th century double wooden front door with patina in Art Nouveau style from Catalonien, Spain. Carved wood typical from this period. The door is f...
Wood
$5,647Sale Price|20% Off
Wooden Double Front Door in Art Nouveau Style
Located in Vulpellac, Girona
19th century double wooden front door with patina in Art Nouveau style from Catalonian, Spain. Carved wood typical from this period. The door is f...
Wood