Art Nouveau literally means New Art, and it was a time of peace and prosperity. This differed from the first movement, Arts and Crafts, because that period did not embrace the manufacturing process, and this period of time did embrace technology and the manufacturing process. This was because growth supported a new and experimental direction for design.

One man that really stuck out to me was Victor Horta. He was a Belgian architect, designer and teacher. He stuck out to me because he introduced the curtain wall. This is seen today in a lot of applications, so it was neat to learn that he was the one who created it. Also, he stenciled walls and ceilings, created mosaic tile patterns on the floors, walls and ceilings and had unique iron railings and hardware. Here is a beautiful picture of an interior designed by Victor. You can see the beautiful tile work along the walls and ceilings.

Art Nouveau became popular in France as well during this time period (1890-1910). Paris and Nancy were the major cities of Art Nouveau. Hector Guimard was an architect, interior designer and industrial designer. He was the most significant designer in Paris. His designs looked handcrafted but they were actually made in factories. He had a unique design and would also carve wood in a curvilinear style. Overall, he valued harmony and continuity. Here is a picture of his Side Chair. 

Not only was Art Nouveau popular in France, but it was popular in Spain as well. Antoni Gaudi was a Spanish Catalan Architect. He used flowing curves and unusual decorative details to create structures that resembled nature based fantasy. He used materials such as glass, masonry, glazed ceramic tile, wrought iron and wood. He then developed a more organic style inspired by nature which were reflected in his designs. This is a picture of Casa Batllo, and the exterior is covered in glass and tiles. This reminds me of nature because the colors that are used, and the design reminds me of leaves on a tree. 

Here are two images of interiors that show current applications of the Art Nouveau style today. You can see the curvilnear lines are really emphasized in each space. In the photo to the right, the curves on the railing and the emphasis of nature is shown as well. 

VIDEOS:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4luPnObQYo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lhw6uuR5aPE

PEER REVIEW: Haley Becker: I love the images that you used from the time period and how it is applied in current day. It is interesting to see how things have changed so much but there are still elements that stand out from the time period such as the curvilinear lines. You did a great job summarizing the time period as a whole, and I like how you talked about the important designers from each country because I did something similar to that. Overall, you did a great job with your blog, and I always enjoy reading them. 

Becca: WOW! I enjoyed reading your blog so much because of all the awesome pictures you included. It was so detailed. I like how you did research on one specific designer instead of talking about a few different ones. This helped because I learned a lot of information that I did not know about him. The videos were interesting to watch too. You did an amazing job finding images of Antoni's work and also finding images that reflect the modern day applications of Art Nouveau. Great job!