Nou’s Who

Art Nouveau, Camilla de la Bedoyere (Flame Tree Publishing 2005)

This is an excellent introduction to some of the best artists and objets of art nouveau, from a cockerel tiara by René Lalique to an enamelled pendant by Phillipe Wolfers. Artist-and-art are presented over double-pages in a solid little paperback: on the right there’s a photograph of the art; on the left there’s a description of the art and a mini-biography of the artist.

Sometimes the art’s small, like jewellery or crockery; sometimes it’s big, like beds or buildings. Mostly it’s three-dimensional, which I think is best for art nouveau, but there are painting, posters and prints too. And after you’ve looked at all that, you’ll find an “Influences on Art Nouveau” section at the end, with artists from William Blake to Aubrey Beardsley. There’s a good introduction and index too. But the book has one flaw: not everyone and everything in the main section is art nouveau. For example, Charles Rennie Mackintosh was art deco. And I don’t like art deco.

A beautiful art-nouveau chair

What’s the difference? In a word, art nouveau is organic and art deco is geometric. In more words, art nouveau is inspired by nature and natural forms: leaves, flowers, feathers, flowing water and flying hair, butterflies, birds, gemstones, trees, seashells, trees, roots and rocks. It’s energetic and sinuous. Art deco is sometimes inspired by natural forms, but it simplifies and constrains them, reducing them to outlines or blocks of color. In one more word, art nouveau overflows, art deco underwhelms.

An ugly Charles-Rennie-Mackintosh chair

It underwhelms me, at least. Fortunately, there’s much more art nouveau than art deco in this book. And the author has a good name: Camilla de la Bédoyère is very art nouveau.