At the turn of the 20th century, Art Nouveau blossomed into one of the most influential movements in the art world.
The Society of the Four Arts in Palm Beach looks at this phenomenon with its latest exhibit, The Triumph of Nature: Art Nouveau from the Chrysler Museum of Art. This exhibition, running through Saturday, April 4, brings together approximately 120 of the finest Art Nouveau objects from the Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk, Va., from the collection of Walter P. and Jean Chrysler.
Drawing inspiration from the elegance of nature, the brief yet intense artistic movement of Art Nouveau emerged in Europe during the late 19th century and was popular around the globe until 1915.
“The exhibition tells the story of Art Nouveau from its origins in the 1890s to its heyday in the early 20th century to its decline during World War I,” says Rebecca Dunham, head of fine arts and curator at the Society of the Four Arts. “This is a unique exhibition, as Art Nouveau is often neglected in the canon of art history, and underrepresented in museum collections, making ‘The Triumph of Nature’ a rare gem.”
Characterized by a refined elegance — flowing, asymmetrical lines, sinuous curves and elaborate patterns, inspired by nature — Art Nouveau was an international style of art, architecture and decorative arts. It integrated fine and applied arts and promoted craftsmanship and artistry as a reaction to mass production and industrialization. The style was a distinct break from tradition and classicism, and one that opened the doors to even more radical movements to come.
The Art Nouveau movement thrived at a moment in time when industrialization and urbanization were becoming dominant features of contemporary life across Europe and North America. The movement was also influenced by Japanese aesthetics, especially Japanese woodblock prints. The influence of Japan, recently opened to the West for trade, is evident in the choice of colors, compositions and themes.
The exhibition, taking up four rooms on the first floor, gathers a snapshot of Art Nouveau objects — furniture, paintings, sculpture, mosaics, books, posters, prints, Tiffany lamps, glass by Émile Gallé and ceramics from the Zsolnay factory in Hungary — all of them chosen to complement each other and provide an understanding of the movement and its place in history.
Among the many highlights of the exhibit, several objects capture the movement’s spirit in particular.
A standout among many standouts is the Waterlily and Flying Heron blown glass vase, circa 1894, designed by the firm of Daum Frères in Japanese style. The flowers and birds that decorate the body of the vase as well as the ornamental borders at the neck, are evocative of similar motifs found in Asia in general, and Japan, in particular. The acid-etched technique used to create a mottled background reminiscent of the texture and surface of Japanese rice paper.
And it wouldn’t be an Art Nouveau show without Louis Comfort Tiffany. A number of Tiffany objects are on display, such as his Favrile glass vessels, a Persian-inspired gooseneck sprinkler vase and his 1900-era 18-light pond lily lamp with 18 lily blossoms, in shades of red and gold iridescent glass. From the bronze base of the lamp, the intertwining stems of the pond lilies rise up from their pads. The trumpet-shaped blossoms open at the edges, resembling a pond lily in bloom.
In addition to the many decorative objects, the exhibit features a number of the major figures of the movement, including Hector Guimard, principal designer of the Paris Métro entrance signs, furniture by Louis Majorelle and Georges de Feure and prints by Czech artist Alphonse Mucha.
Majorelle’s craftsmanship and large furniture pieces appears throughout the exhibition, represented by several major works.
One centerpiece is Majorelle’s large buffet cabinet, adorned with metal flowers. In the center is a carved wood panel and inlays and a design of a bird encountering a butterfly beneath flowering and fruit-laden plants. The design is inspired by the Japanese idea of ukiyo-e (floating world). Delicate tendrils of flowers drape over the shelves in front of a leaf design background.
Other great examples of his aesthetics are evident in the wooden dessert cabinet, circa 1900, made with fruitwood, marble and metal, ormolu and mother-of-pearl, also heavily influenced by Japanese design. Two birds rest among a grouping of grape leaves, in a nod to Japanese prints. Carved floral designs and the pyramid shape of the cabinet also are reminiscent of Japanese design.
Another Majorelle cabinet features wood inlay panels with bold Japanese-inspired compositions drawn from the natural world in woods of different natural colors, with pulls, handles, edges and feel designed in the whimsical shapes of flowers, roots, animals and nude women. These motifs also appeared in the workshop’s glass and ceramic designs.
Also noteworthy are the wooden nesting tables by Émile Gallé, circa 1890, created with mixed woods and designed to stack into each other. Each one is carved with a thistle in different stages of development, rendered in marquetry.
On the wall behind the nesting tables are four of the most well-known Art Nouveau posters designed by Mucha, titled Summer, Autumn, Winter, Spring. Each poster depicts a beautiful woman in nature surrounded by seasonal foliage.
Designing for a range of clients and settings, including domestic and commercial projects, these artists fashioned their works to complement each other in harmonious visual arrangements, conceiving of Art Nouveau as a holistic and immersive environment.
The rivalry of popular glass makers from Nancy, France, including Gallé, a competitor of Majorelle, led to the creation of beautiful and sophisticated (but sometimes outrageous) designs, and attracted collectors to the area.
Last, a small section highlights the early shift toward Art Deco, a movement that supplanted the Art Nouveau movement by the 1920s, including a vase by Majorelle, a fired porcelain statue of a woman holding a mandolin and a silver geometric water pitcher, circa 1930.
Taken together, the objects in The Triumph of Nature reveal an era and a movement that sought out beauty and incorporated it into art, design and architecture. More than a chronology, the exhibition provides a glimpse into an era where these elements, combined with nature, were inseparable — a legacy that still reverberates today.
If you go
What: The Triumph of Nature: Art Nouveau from the Chrysler Museum of Art
When: Through Saturday, April 4
Where: The Four Arts’ Esther B. O’Keeffe Building, 102 Four Arts Plaza, Palm Beach.
Tickets: $10, with no charge to Four Arts members, and may be purchased at the gallery entrance or online at fourarts.org. Walk-ins are encouraged.
Hours: Sunday – 1 to 5 p.m.; Monday – 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Tuesday – 1 to 5 p.m. (Four Arts members only on Tuesdays)
For more information: Visit fourarts.org
Lecture: Lloyd DeWitt, Portland Art Museum; 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, April 1, Walter S. Gubelmann Auditorium