Art Nouveau
Consider and contrast the work of two artists from either
art deco or art nouveau movements
This is a style of art which began to be popular from the
1890’s until the First World War, it is a style of art which portrays
architecture and design. It was most popular in Western Europe and the USA and
was best described for its natural forms and softs colours.
Aubrey
Beardsley: 1872-98
Aubrey
Beardsley is most famous for his beautiful Art Nouveau illustrations which were
often black and white. He is known as ‘one of the most controversial artists of
his time[i]’
Even though his life was short he was known as one of the best graphic artists
of modern art. He was one of the major
figures in art nouveau and will always be popular for his original but
beautiful style of work. Drawing was always a big love of Beardsley’s since a
young age which motivated him to study at Westminster school of art. He had
loads of jobs over his lifetime like being an art editor and illustrator of a
new quarterly. His work has a big influence of the style art nouveau and the
designs found in Japanese wood work and Whistler ‘encouraged him to collect
original Japanese prints’[ii].
Critics were shocked about the eroticism of women in his drawings which he used
a lot in his work. He then caught a disease at the age of seventeen which caused
him to die at the age of twenty five. His work will always be widely loved and
appreciated and periodic revivals during the 1960’s. His unique styles and
meanings behind these pieces is what makes Beardsley so well-known and famous
for his art.
Another classic illustration of Beardsley is ‘How Sir
Tristram Drank of the Love Drink’ which was created in 1893. This illustration
was created to help people understand the story of king Arthur who was beloved
by the pre-Raphaelites. It refers to Tristram and Isolde’s love story, which
showed the romantic tale of Lancelot and Guinevere. The couple are represented
as androgynous figures which have been separated by a pillar. The flowers
surrounding the edge of the image look ready to blossom, which suggests the
blossoming of something more sinister. Beardsley's androgyny figures questioned
lots of Victorians sexuality and made them think about the concepts. As well as
being an example of Art nouveau ‘it was also a social critic’ [iv]which
is why a lot of people thought about the meaning behind this illustration. It
was created in black and white which is a common trend that Beardsley used and
a lot of patterns and lines which describe the art nouveau style.
Gustav Klimt 1862- 1918
Gustav Klimt went to Vienna School of arts and crafts to
study and learnt how to be an architectural painter. His big aspiration was to
be a drawing teacher but began his career painting interior murals and ceilings
in large public buildings. This was a business created by him and his brother
and a mutual friend which was appreciated and loved by a lot of people. In 1890
Klimt met Emilie Floge who was his partner for life but no one is sure if it
was sexual. Klimt managed to father fourteen children throughout his life. He
took a lot of summer holidays with the ‘Floge’ family where he painted a lot of
his landscape paintings and he has been said to do a lot of them by looking
through a telescope. He got lots of amazing jobs like creating thee paintings to cover the ceiling of the Great Hall in the University of Vienna. Klimt went
through a ‘golden phase’ [v]which
got a critical reaction but very positive. This was where he used either gold
paint or gold leaf in his pieces to create a range of luxurious paintings. The
use of gold made his pieces stand out as one of the grandest monuments of the
Art Nouveau age. Klimt was a very sexual man and had numerous affairs with
women as he became very obsessed with them and looked at them as objects. This
is shown a lot in his drawings which often include women which were often
prostitutes. Klimt’s style was inspired by Egyptian, Minoan, Greek, Byzantine
style[vi].
As well as the use of gold Klimt also used a lot of bright colours to make
certain objects or symbols stand out.
One
of Klimt’s works was a painting called ‘The Kiss’ which was created in 1908.
This painting was one of Klimt’s most famous pieces. The canvas showcases a
couple embracing each other in robes covered in patterns influenced by the
linear constructs of art nouveau and the arts and crafts movement. The piece
has been designed using oil paints and layers of gold leaf. Klimt uses gold a
lot in his pieces which makes them look more modern but very effective. This
painting reflects eroticism which is partly because Klimt had a very sexual
appetite which shows in a lot of his paintings he has created. The patterns
covering the robes are a clear link to the organic forms of art nouveau. Klimt
got inspired by a lot of contemporary painters which helped him to create some
of his amazing pieces. He was influenced by their style of work which was the
use of Dutch symbolist that Jan Theodor uses and Belgian Symbolist painter
Fernand Khnopff. A lot of people have wanted to identify the women in the painting
but some say that she is Klimt’s partner Emilie Flöge, but also Adele
Bloch-Bauer.
Another painting created by Klimt is ‘The Tree of Life,
Stoclet Frieze’ created in 1909.
It consists of a series of three mosaics which was created
for the Palais Stoclet in Brussels. The main feature of this piece is the big
tree with swirling branches. To the right of the picture there is a couple
embracing and to the left is a standing women looking at the couple. This piece
represents the ‘connection between heaven and earth and the underworld’[vii].
He used oil paints and gold paints to create this beautiful piece. The swirling branches suggest the purity of
life but they twisting of the branches can also show the complexity of life.
The tree reaches all the way to the sky showing the connection between heaven
and earth. Others say that it symbolises
masculinity and feminism which shows the ‘care and growth’[viii].
People look refer to this piece as being very beautiful and luxurious due to
the techniques used. The black bird draws people to the middle of the painting
and is a reminder that everything that has a beginning also has an end.
The main comparison of the two artists are that they both produced
work in the Art Nouveau style which was very popular and still is to this day.
They both also use a lot of patterns in their work and swirling lines which
shows that both artists like to add detail which has meaning. Each artist uses
a lot of couples in their work to show off different factors of relationships
which have been from personal experience. Their presence dominated this era of
arts and were influential figures in Art Nouveau which is why they both
achieved such success in the art world and really made a statement which
inspires a lot of people.
The big difference between the two artists is the colours
they both use are very different as Beardsley only uses colours like black and
white and Klimt uses a range of different colours. This was because they were
inspired by different things such as Japanese wood work for Beardsley which is
why he loved using black ink and colour for Klimt as it was a way of him
expressing the emotions of the paintings. Another difference is that Klimt uses
a lot of symbols in his work to show off different meanings whereas Beardsley
uses more patterns to show his meaning.
Overall Art Nouveau is full of amazing talented artists
which use this style and apply it to their work which will always interest us
and inspire us. The beautiful lines, patterns and figures Is what makes art nouveau
so special and memorable.
Olivia Thomas
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