1. Daniel Pintado Mínguez
Art Nouveau

2. Index
1.-Art Nouveau:
• Definition
• Characteristics
• Changes in graphic arts and crafts
• Important centres of the style
• Example of an Art Nouveau Work
2.-Antoni Gaudí:
• Biography
• Examples of Gaudí’s work

3. Art Nouveau
This style appeared in Europe
at the end of the 19th Century.
This new style broke up with
the predominant historicist
currents. It drew inspiration
from nature: curved lines,
organic motifs (flowers, plants),
exuberant decoration. The
work of art was understood as
a whole, including all arts and
crafts (architecture, sculpture,
painting, furniture, ceramics,
wrought ironwork, stained
glasses…).
Art Nouveau door by
Jules Lavirotte, Paris

4. Characteristics
The main characteristics of the Nouveau Art are:
• Inspiration on nature and its elements.
• Use of curved lines, organic motifs…
• Use of female image mainly in a sensual
position.
• Use of exotic motifs of different cultures.
• Contrast between the decoration and the
decorated item.
Summer, Alphonse Mucha

5. Graphic arts and crafts
- Art Nouveau spread very quickly in
graphic arts: in the illustration of
books and magazines and posters
Art Nouveau
- The arts of jewellery, glassware, jewellery
ceramics, furniture and forge were
revitalized by Art Nouveau, having
nature as the main source of
inspiration.
F. Champenois Printer and Tiffany´s Dragonfly lamp Art Nouveau furniture
Editor Poster, Alphonse Mucha

6. Art Nouveau Painting
In contrast to both academicism and
impressionism, these painters changed the
daily themes for symbolic and conceptual
contents, between which the woman stands
out, with an erotic treatment that comes up to
the perversion.
Princess Hiacinth,
Alphonse Mucha
Gismonda, Sarah Bernhardt ´s
poster of Alphonse Mucha

7. Art Nouveau sculpture
It took the female figure as a central topic in different
attitudes.
Some examples of sculptors:
• Spain: José de Rivera, José Llimona, Enrique Clarasó, Venancio Vallmitjana
and José Clará.
• Belgium: Fernand Dubois and Egide Rombaux
• Austria: Gustav Gurschner
• Poland: Xavery Dunikowski
Exterminating
Angel, Josep
Llimona
The Goddess, by Clarà

8. Architecture
- Art Nouveau Architecture is a
bourgeois and very expensive art,
which tries to integrate all the arts
and crafts in architecture. It is an
essentially decorative current. This
movement used iron and crystal in
architecture, but also forge and
mostly curved elements.
Grand Place of
Brussels
The most important centres of this style were Brussels, Paris and Barcelona

9. Important centres of the style: France
The most important architect was Hector Guimard designed several
metro station entrances in Paris, some hotels and Synagogues
Synagogue,
Hector Guimard
Abbesses Metro Station entrance
designed by Hector Guimard

10. Important centres of the style: Belgium
In Belgium, Victor Horta worked in Brussels, where he built the
Hôtel Tassel, many public buildings in Brussels such as, the Palais
des Beaux Arts, Solvay Library and his house and workshop.
The Palais des Beaux Arts, Victor Horta
Hôtel Tassel by Victor Horta

11. Important centres of the style: Spain
The most important architects in Barcelona were Lluís Domènech I
Montaner (Music Palace) and Antonio Gaudí: The Holy Family,
Batlló House, Güell Park...
Palau de la Música (Barcelona)
Lleó Morera House, by Lluís by Lluís Domènech
Domènech i Montaner, Barcelona

12. Example of an Art Nouveau Work
• Title: The night
• Author: Alphonse Mucha
• Chronology: 1899
• Location : Alphonse Mucha’s Museum, Prague
• Material used: Colour lithograph
• Description: Alphonse Mucha painted the four
Times of the day: The Morning, The Day, The
Afternoon and The Night. Mucha tried to create a
compelling harmony of vision, whose intention
was to inspire and elevate the viewer.Mucha also
painted several series of paintings similar to this
one, for example one the four seasons of the
year.
The Art Nouveau’s characteristics are the use of
nature elements, organic forms, geometric
structure… He used the female image mainly in a
sensual position. He also painted movement in
the dress of the woman and bright colours.

13. The times of the day

14. The seasons of the year

15. Antoni Gaudí
Gaudí was the most important representative of Art
Nouveau in Spain. He was influenced by Gothic art and
oriental styles. He used: hyperboloid vaults and
helicoidal columns. Gaudí also used the trencadís, a
mosaic made of ceramic fragments. One example of
trencadís is the Dragonfly of Güell Park.
Many of his works
were commissioned
by the Güell family.

16. Gaudí was an architect with an innate sense of geometry and
volume and great ingenuity. He studied the most minimal details of
his creations. After a short time of Neogothic influence, Gaudí
ended in Art Nouveau in his period of major effervescence.
There are innumerable studies
dedicated to his way of
understanding architecture.
The Holy Family is one of
Gaudí’s most visited
monuments in Spain nowadays.
Between 1984 and 2005 seven
Gaudí´s works were been
considered to be Heritage of
the Humanity by the UNESCO.
Mila’s House, Barcelona

17. Examples of Gaudi’s buildings
Güell Park, Barcelona

18. Entrance gate to the
Güell Pavilions.
Holy Family,
Barcelona
The Whim

19. La Casa Botines,
Astorga
Interior of Batlló
House
Dragonfly of the
Güell Park

20. Batlló House

21. • Title: Batlló House
• Author: Antonio Gaudí
• Chronology: The first house
was built in 1875 by Emili Sala
Cortés, but later it was restored
by Gaudí in 1904- 1906.
• Location : Barcelona,
Catalunya
• Material used: Iron, wood,
concrete, tiles, glass...

22. • Description:
Facade: Gaudí used the trencadís to build it and
it has a wavy surface. He also used masks, bones,
confetti and the dragonfly scales as decorative
elements.
Interior: It has 8 floors. The hall is rectangular
and it has curved ceilings, marble floors and a blue
ceramic decoration in the bottom of the stucco wall
at the top.
Roof: It is built with tiles that simulates dragonfly
scales. It has a tower that ends with a Latin cross.
Main Hall

23. The Art Nouveau’s characteristics
are organic forms, geometric
architecture, nature elements, the
use of exotic elements… It starts
with some refinements of
Baroque, but it acquired great
rich structure of forms and curved
lines.

24. Sources
• Wikipedia: Art Nouveau and Antoni Gaudi articles. 2012. 27th March
2012. <http://es.wikipedia.org/>
• Historial de diseño on the Internet. 2012.12th April 2012. <
http://historialdedisenio.wordpress.com/2008/05/30/las-pinturas-de-alphon
>
• Foro Xerbar on the Internet. 2012. 12th April 2012. <
http://www.foroxerbar.com/viewtopic.php?t=7214>
• Página oficial de la Casa Batlló. 2012. 24th April 2012. <
http://www.casabatllo.es/es/historia/fachada/>
• Mucha Foundation. © 2012 Mucha Foundation. 24th April 2012.
<http://www.muchafoundation.org/gallery/themes/theme/art-posters>