Tommy Ingberg - Crow, 2011

An apparent admirer of one Rene Magritte, Swedish photographer Tommy Ingberg creates minimalistic and reflecting surreal photos dealing with human nature, feelings and thoughts. His monochromatic works are inspired by the idea of expressing the abstract, and as part of his Reality Rearranged series, he managed to depict the views of the world he lives in, while incorporating recognizable surrealist symbolism like hats, birds, shadows and sky. The male figure appearing in almost all his works is probably the artist himself, in a kind of a self-portrait.

Art Nouveau

Before Modernism, the one we know today, there was another style that had similar intents, but it was ideologically one too many steps ahead of its time. Art Nouveau, which is just one of the possible ways to name this movement, was as close as one could get to the idea of modernity in the 1880s. Still, it takes some history to name a style after a common adjective such as “modern”, and so this new style that marked the turn of the 19th century was eventually called “New Art”, as it was, indeed, something truly novel at the time. Although the term Art Nouveau (after an article in the Belgian journal L’Art Moderne) has become the most usual way to address the style, it was named differently in various countries: Jugendstil in Germany, Viennese Secession in Austria, Arte nuova or Stile Liberty in Italy, and Art belle époque in France.

It is Gustav Klimt who in fact stands as a representative of the Art Nouveau painting style. Focusing on the fusion of the symbolism paintings and the above-mentioned decorative surface, Klimt rejoiced and early on rejected realism. Fusing embellishment and the flat quality of 2D, while exploring the decorative possibilities of painting, with his work Klimt reflected the period’s love for grandeur and elaboration. His own love for the majestic is seen in his use of the golden leaf, recalling the Byzantine mosaics for the building of his painted surface, which is in the end highly decorative. His love for the ornament and the belief in the equality of fine and decorative art resulted in pieces of work, which can be viewed as a mix between a designed pattern and realism, which relays on the power of symbolism. This cross between the real and the abstract is an important legacy of Klimt’s work and an important feature of the Art Nouveau Paintings.

Louis Comfort Tiffany’s remarkable artistry which spanned roughly fifty years fitted the aesthetics and the visions of Art Nouveau artists perfectly. But he wasn’t a painter, or sculptor, or just one of the designers – he was an iconic decorative arts maker, best known for his work with stained glass. Often inspired by foreign cultures and natural elements, Louis Comfort Tiffany created a vast variety of objects like pottery, mosaics, metal works, enamels and jewelry, all the while designing windows, interiors, lamps, glasses and much more. His creations can now be found across the United States and beyond, such as the Mark Twain House in Connecticut, many church windows and the White House itself, more specifically its East Room, Blue Room, Red Room, the State Dining Room and the Entrance Hall. His additions were removed in 1902.

Art Nouveau Posters – The History of the Beautiful Commercial

In addition to architecture and fine arts such as painting, any serious discussion of this important stylistic movement must consider Art Nouveau posters and the vast influence they had on the world of graphic design. Making art a daily thing for people,the poster was the means through which Art Nouveau reached a mass audience and widespread popularity. The recent advancement in printing technologies such as multiple-colour lithography, that allowed more sophisticated range of tones and easier large-scale production, resulted in a so-called poster crazeduring the late 1880s and 90s. As a dominant form of mass communication, the poster, or the so-called ‘art of the street’, was widely used to promote products and entertainment and stimulated new heights of artistic expression.

Alphonse Mucha, a Check-born artist and one of the leading figures of Art Nouveau, has completely transformed the art of the poster. The poster for Victorien Sardou’s play Gismonda featuring Sarah Bernhardt is one of his most celebrated pieces that made him famous overnight. After wandering into a Paris print shop just before the Christmas 1894 and learning that a new play opening in the New Year with Sarah Bernhardt in the lead role needed a new advertising poster, he agreed to design it in only fourteen days. He portrayed Sarah Bernhardt as an exotic Byzantine noblewoman wearing a splendid costume and an orchid headpiece from the last act of the play in a rich variety of colour and decorative detail. Mucha’s beautiful and revolutionary design has landed him an exclusive 6-year contract with the famous actress.

The Franco-Swiss decorative artist Eugène Grasset is considered to be a pioneer in Art Nouveau design. Initially emerging in the world of graphic design in 1877 with postcards and postage stamps, Grasset soon started to create commercial artwork in the form of a poster that became his forte. 

Elisabeth Sonrel was a French painter and illustrator that mainly worked in the Art Nouveau style. Her oeuvre included allegorical subject, mysticism and symbolism, portraits and landscapes. In her early years, she has also produced many posters, postcards and illustrations that were mainly portraying beautiful women with lavish hair depicted in the typical Art Nouveau decorative style. One of her most famous posters is the one for Roger et Gallet, a firm of French perfumers that specialized in toilet soap and perfumes. The poster portrays a woman surrounded with flowers and holding a bouquet of violets, referring to the newly synthesized fragrance of violet that the firm has introduced by the end of the 19th century.