An art movement is a
philosophy of art which has been influenced or motivated by a certain idea or
set of ideas. The style usually embraces every form of art from visual arts
like paintings, sculptures, graphics etc. to, performing arts like theatre,
dancing, singing etc. to literature, architecture and jewellery. These
movements have a great impact on the society and can last from few months to
few decades.
One of the movements
which was short lived but extremely impactful was Art Nouveau (1890 – 1910). The
movement went out of style before the First World War. Countries that were
deeply impacted by the movement were England , France, Germany, Belgium and the
United Stated of America. This movement was all about a romantic revival of
arts drawing inspiration hugely from nature and had the intention to break free
from the mediocrity of the previous periods.
INSPIRATION:
Art Nouveau was inspired from a variety of factors, the most important being the dehumanising effects of Industrial Revolution which started in the 18th
century in Britain and then extended widely to many other parts of the world. Industrialisation was wide spread and mass produced shoddy goods had taken
over. Decorative arts were dominated by poor styles and products. Dearth of creativity
resulted in an artistic revolt against the brutal influences of
industrialisation.
With technological
advancements came in better connectivity and improved communication
internationally, which allowed the Western world to open up to the East. Along with
it, when the United States signed the treaty of Kanagawa in the year 1854, with
Japan. It opened the doors of trade which were closed from 1683. Japan at that
time was producing breathtaking arts and crafts. The western world was
completely mesmerised and smitten by their style. Simplicity, delicacy, elegance, balanced asymmetry, use of soft colour palette, flowing designs were the highlights of
their craft and arts. Japan also participated in the London International
Exhibition in 1862 which further impacted the European artists. It was a breath
of fresh air for the artists. They were motivated to break the monotony of the
past and reinvigorate what they saw as static design.
Various exhibitions
that were held in Europe, showcased work from many other countries like Persia,
Arabia, India and other oriental countries. Also social issues like, women
fighting for equal rights in France to have access to better education and to
be paid equally became a driving force for the movement.
ART NOUVEAU AND JEWELLERY: Art
Nouveau movement had a mammoth impact on the jewellery industry. Modern design
concepts were flamboyant, exciting and intense.
Artists were hugely inspired by nature, sensuous forms and symbolism. They
craved for good workmanship and intended to elevate the craft from mediocre to
extraordinary.
Art
Nouveau jewellery was poetry personified. This dynamic movement impacted many
aspects of jewellery design, from concepts to colour palette, to gemstones and
materials used for making the jewels. With the revival of old styles like that
of rococo and celtic art, artists discovered the most important constituent of
the style which became the backbone of Art Nouveau jewellery. It was the
flowing, curved line which came to be known as “The Whiplash Line”. It was not
only prevalent in jewellery but also in architecture and other forms of art.
To understand the style better it could be broken down into various aspects like motifs, materials and techniques used and colour palette:
MOTIFS: Art Nouveau jewellers as mentioned earlier
had turned to nature for inspiration. Nature was depicted in a raw and striking
manner. Birds, reptiles, insects, aquatic creatures, flowers, leaves,
transition of seasons and many more elements were weaved into the designs.
Peacocks, swans, owls, bats, dragonfly, butterfly, bees, snakes, lizards and
many more made it to the designer’s bench. Another
motif which was extremely popular in Art Nouveau designs was the form of a woman, partially covered
which was shown either flying or swimming and it symbolised freedom. The
inspiration for this came from French women, who at that time were struggling
for equal rights in the society. Jewels
crafted were also seen incorporating figures which seemed to come straight out
of fantasy land like, medusas, dragons, sphinx and griffons etc.
GEMS AND MATERIALS USED: Art Nouveau jewellers opted for material for its visual appeal rather than their intrinsic value. This was a huge shift from the last two centuries. Earlier diamonds were highly regarded and the jewels were designed in order to highlight them the most. Whereas, in Art Nouveau diamonds and precious gems were used sparingly or just to accentuate or complement the design. Opals were extremely popular in the period along with semi-precious gems like topaz, chalcedony, aquamarine, agate, moonstone, peridot, garnet just to name a few. Mother-of-pearl, turquoise, malachite, lapis lazuli were used as cabochons or inlays. Taking a break from perfectly spherical pearls used in jewellery earlier, Art Nouveau designs used baroque pearls quite commonly. Unconventional materials like horn and ivory were also very popular. They were altered with heat and pressure to change the transparency and then stained with soft colours and polished to give them a sheen. Enamels were extensively used to express the colour palette of this design movement. Various techniques like cloisonne’, champleve’, plique-a’-jour and pâte-de-verre were used to amplify the aesthetics. Enamelling was extremely useful for producing three dimensional effects, stained glass effect and for creating winged creatures in the jewels.
COLOUR PALETTE: The most
impressive thing about the Japanese art was not only their concepts and
simplicity but also the colour palette they used for expressing their thoughts
and ideas. The soft pastel hues like mauves, lavenders, delicate pinks along
with soft greens helped them portray the fragile flora and warmer tones like that of magentas, oranges,
deep reds helped them showcase the transition of seasons. These hues were also
incorporated in jewellery and it helped the artists express their ideas with
ease. There was a lot of play of colour involved in the jewels created and use
of these colours gave a very authentic look and feel to the jewels created.
Art Nouveau though was short lived but its impact was humongous.
There are many more interesting and unexplored aspects of Art Nouveau jewellery
which, The Jewel Affair will try to bring to you in part – 2 of this article.
References and Images:
Markowitz, Y. J. (2008). Imperishable Beauty Art Nouveau Jewelry. Aldershot: Lund Humphries.
