What’s in a Name? Art Nouveau and other Names
to 10px; WIDTH: 309px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center” alt=”” src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kcTb8DnPVW4/SprA2Mm-PII/AAAAAAAADhU/T6rTlGDV-MA/s400/artnouveau2.jpg” border=”0″ />While this might seem like common sense to you, did you realize that the style we typically refer to as Art Nouveau also has a whole host of other names? In Germany it’s called Jugendstil (Youth Style) but in Austria, another German speaking country, it’s referred to as the Sezessionstil. Meanwhile, in the UK, Art Nouveau developed out of the Arts and Crafts Movement and is seen exemplified in Mackintosh’s work in Glasgow, so many Brit’s simply refer to this style as the Glasgow Style. The Americans aren’t any better. We often refer to all Art Nouveau design as Tiffany Style even on pieces that Louis Comfort Tiffany had no hand in designing. The Italians took no credit for the design. Instead, they looked to London’s Liberty & Co department store when naming the movement in their language, choosing to call Art Nouveau the Stile Liberty (Liberty Style). In Spain, Art Nouveau is referred to as Modernisme while in Denmark and Poland, Art Nouveau designs were absorbed into established local movements called Sknvirke (aesthetic activity) and Moda Polska (Young Poland).
All this is enough to give you a headache, but as I wave goodbye, I’ll mention just one more name for Art Nouveau -Wellenstil (or the wave style).
The Antiques Diva™
PAN Amsterdam



