The History of Jewelry: Art Nouveau Period Jewellery
The Art Nouveau Period (1880 to 1915)
Article Copyright © 2010 AllAboutGemstones.com
The "Art Nouveau" ("new art") movement was one of the first departures from classical art and design, towards a new modernism. This avant-garde movement occurred during what was known in France as the "La Belle Époque" period, or "beautiful era" of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In Germany, the Art Nouveau movement was known as the "Jugendstil," or "youth style" arts and crafts movement, named after "Jugend," a cultural weekly magazine founded by Georg Hirth in 1896.
The Modernism movement was primarily influenced by the radical work of Czech (Moravian) artist Alphonse Maria Mucha (1860—1939), Swiss decorative artist Eugène Samuel Grasset (1845—1917), and English illustrator Aubrey Vincent Beardsley (1872—1898) — illustrator of the "The Peacock Skirt" below, left—and the ground-breaking architectural design work of Hector Guimard (1867—1942) of Paris (Paris Métro - below, right) and the surrealist architecture of Antoni Plàcid Gaudí (1852—1926) in Barcelona, Spain.
Design motifs of the Art Nouveau movement focused heavily on the themes of nature, fantasy, and the female form, with sensual flowing shapes that simulated the organic growth that would be reminiscent of the primeval Garden of Eden.
Exotic floral motifs with animals, birds, butterfles, dragonflies, peacock feathers and marsh plants were incorporated with graceful feminine imagery or fairies, mermaids and nymphs, complete with their long manes of twisting hair.
Some of the floral motifs that were used in the Art Nouveau style were borrowed from English artist William Morris, founder of the "Arts and Crafts Movement" of the late Victorian era.
Jewellery of the Art Nouveau Period
Enameling or plique à jour ("open to light") were popular jewelry techniques during the Art Nouveau period, and the "craft" of jewelry design and metal-working was reborn in the elaborate and imaginative creations of the time. Jewellery designers such as Georges Fouquet and Lucien Gautrait, as well as glass designers Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848—1933) and René Jules Lalique (1860—1945) combined Japanese motifs with popular natural elements to create elaborate Art Nouveau jewelry designs.
Bibliography on Belle Époque & Art Nouveau Jewelry
1. Artcyclopedia, Artists by Movement: Art Nouveau  . www.artcyclopedia.com
2. Art Movements, Art Deco . www.artmovements.co.uk
3. Oppi Untracht, Jewelry Concepts & Technology - Complete Reference Guide . Doubleday
4. The Center for Jewelry Studies, Antique, Period, & Vintage Jewelry . www.center4jewelrystudies.org
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