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Horta Architect Of Art Nouveau
224 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2005
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April 25, 2022
Art Nouveau signified the desire to break away from imitating styles of the past, to develop an art that reflected the sensitivities and way of life of a particular society, the extreme individuality of the artist dreaming of inventing an original language that would ensure the absolute harmony of the ornamentation of life.
The private home became the framework for an aesthetic experience for a new middle class with its newly acquired wealth in commercial or industrial enterprises. Art Nouveau was thus adopted by progressive people who took care to assert their modernity before it became widespread throughout all social classes or a transient fashion item. The word was spread by images displayed in decorative arts magazines and in commerce.
Art Nouveau transformed the object, whether it was produced by a craftsman with traditional knowledge handed down over centuries or by industry. In the second half of the 19th century there was intense debate between the supporters of the craftsman and those in favour of the first steps taken in industrial design.
There are numerous facets to Art Nouveau: from the exuberant ornamentation of Gaudi in Spain to the rustic simplicity of Serrurier-Bovy or the Japanese style of Mackintosh in Glasgow. Th style was born, developed and died between 1893 and 1910. Initially based on the use of the arabesque and naturalist decoration, by the turn of the century it was gradually becoming more geometric. Just as a plant could be adapted more or less faithfully, the abstract curve expressed vital energy, growth and blossoming. To study the plant was also to understand the constructional system behind architecture as well as the object.
Art Nouveau aimed to embellish life's setting for both aesthetic and moral reasons. The competition to furnish workers' homes as part of the Liege Exhibition in 1905 demonstrates the wish felt at the time to give the worker a home worth coming back to. Commenting on the interior by Serrurier-Bovy, Jules Destree evoked an 'impression of freshness, of health, joy and energy', Art Nouveau being seen as an antidote to the temptations of the bar. Ten years earlier, Horta's construction of the Maison du Peuple also had a philanthropic aim: to open up an airy, light-filled space to people living in the slums. The choice of the Workers' Party also had its origins in the quest for a style that would deter the conservative middle class.
Art Nouveau strucks me as a never-ending galore of details as the decorators bring the world of nature into urban houses. It's enchanting to see a particular flower or butterfly as the motif on a ceramic tile, mosaic panel or stained-glass window. Curved lines, themselves inseparable from vegetation, recalled the tendrils barely contained by the trellises on which my people grew sweet peas in their garden plots.
1. Autrique House
2. Tassel House
3. Winssinger House
4. Frison House
5. Van Eetvelde House
6. Solvay House
7. House and Studio of Victor Horta
8. Max Hallet House
The private home became the framework for an aesthetic experience for a new middle class with its newly acquired wealth in commercial or industrial enterprises. Art Nouveau was thus adopted by progressive people who took care to assert their modernity before it became widespread throughout all social classes or a transient fashion item. The word was spread by images displayed in decorative arts magazines and in commerce.
Art Nouveau transformed the object, whether it was produced by a craftsman with traditional knowledge handed down over centuries or by industry. In the second half of the 19th century there was intense debate between the supporters of the craftsman and those in favour of the first steps taken in industrial design.
There are numerous facets to Art Nouveau: from the exuberant ornamentation of Gaudi in Spain to the rustic simplicity of Serrurier-Bovy or the Japanese style of Mackintosh in Glasgow. Th style was born, developed and died between 1893 and 1910. Initially based on the use of the arabesque and naturalist decoration, by the turn of the century it was gradually becoming more geometric. Just as a plant could be adapted more or less faithfully, the abstract curve expressed vital energy, growth and blossoming. To study the plant was also to understand the constructional system behind architecture as well as the object.
Art Nouveau aimed to embellish life's setting for both aesthetic and moral reasons. The competition to furnish workers' homes as part of the Liege Exhibition in 1905 demonstrates the wish felt at the time to give the worker a home worth coming back to. Commenting on the interior by Serrurier-Bovy, Jules Destree evoked an 'impression of freshness, of health, joy and energy', Art Nouveau being seen as an antidote to the temptations of the bar. Ten years earlier, Horta's construction of the Maison du Peuple also had a philanthropic aim: to open up an airy, light-filled space to people living in the slums. The choice of the Workers' Party also had its origins in the quest for a style that would deter the conservative middle class.
Art Nouveau strucks me as a never-ending galore of details as the decorators bring the world of nature into urban houses. It's enchanting to see a particular flower or butterfly as the motif on a ceramic tile, mosaic panel or stained-glass window. Curved lines, themselves inseparable from vegetation, recalled the tendrils barely contained by the trellises on which my people grew sweet peas in their garden plots.
1. Autrique House
2. Tassel House
3. Winssinger House
4. Frison House
5. Van Eetvelde House
6. Solvay House
7. House and Studio of Victor Horta
8. Max Hallet House
Displaying 1 of 1 review