In the 18th century, the industrialization process brought about a great number of transformations in Europe. In a short time, urban centers were taken over by workers who would assume their factory jobs. The routine of thousands of people was now determined by a working day and subordinated to the efficiency of the machines. At the same time, technology enabled the mass production of goods to be consumed in different parts of the world.
Throughout this process, we observed the birth of a strong interest in reconciling the accelerated demand for industrial manufactures and the limitations imposed by artisanal work. Large-scale manufacturing could, less and less, be subject to the detail and delay of craftsmanship. Around 1830, the British government encouraged the creation of drawing schools that would prepare professionals committed to the development of design combined with industrial production.
As these situations gained public, we observed the manifestation of several critics against this process of interference by industrial capitalism in the art world. For many of them, the standardization expected by the Industrial Revolution would come to determine a serious attack on the free and original forms that guided the artistic making over the centuries. With this, we can see that the origins of Art Noveau impose themselves as a reaction to the dictates of the emerging industrial society.
John Ruskin (1819 – 1900), one of England's most influential art critics, came out at this time in defense of an art inspired by the feats of artisans in the medieval period. He strongly fights the architectural standards of the time and emphasizes that the maintenance of a genuine and true art could only happen as a result of creative freedom. Without a doubt, we can clearly point out that Ruskin's reflections would have enormous weight for Art Nouveau to establish itself between the 1890s and 1910s.
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Influenced by Ruskin's ideals, the young architect and sociologist William Morris (1834 – 1896) tries to rethink the limits between art and craft work, aiming to combat the popularization of artistic content carried out by the Revolution Industrial. While working at George Edmund Street's firm, young William saw that the denial of industrial demand was impossible. In this way, he paved the way for the synthesis between art and industry that marked the era of Art Nouveau.
Over time, a new generation of decorators and artisans appropriated the materials popularized by industrialization to outline a new type of design concept. Influenced by the Arts and Crafts movement (started by William Morris), the decorative arts, medieval illuminations and art eastern, these late nineteenth century artists organized new conceptions between ornaments and architectural forms to define what would come to be the Art Nouveau.
By Rainer Sousa
Graduated in History
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
SOUSA, Rainer Gonçalves. "The Origins of Art Nouveau"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/historiag/art-nouveau.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.