Patrick Bade
Art Nouveau
Summary
Patrick Bade explores the style of Art Nouveau, an international style of art, architecture, and applied art. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and flowers. It was popular between 1890 and 1910 during the Belle Époque period and was a reaction against the academicism, eclecticism and historicism of 19th century architecture and decorative art.
Patrick Bade
Patrick Bade is a historian, writer, and broadcaster. He studied at UCL and the Courtauld Institute of Art. He was a senior lecturer at Christie’s Education for many years and has worked for the Art Fund, Royal Opera House, National Gallery, and V&A. He has published on 19th- and early 20th-century paintings and historical vocal recordings. His latest book is Music Wars: 1937–1945.
Well, various, it was various reasons. I mentioned the fact that in England people felt that it wasn’t true, it didn’t follow the doctrine of truth to materials. Another criticism of it from the Arts and Craft side was that it was too self-indulgent and too luxurious. And I think one of the problems with Art Nouveau was that it is a style, it is a luxury style and when it became very, very popular and fashionable the cheaper, industrial versions of it were pretty nasty. And I think that brought about a reaction against the style. I always, when people say to me, “Oh, I’m going to the flea market in Paris and I’d like to buy something collectible, but my budget is limited.” I always say don’t go for Art Nouveau. Cheap Art Nouveau is nasty Art Nouveau. Cheap Art Deco on the other hand, which is a style with an industrial aesthetic, can actually be wonderful.
I think quite, you know, I think one can actually for once be quite precise about that and you can say that the first, as I said, the first fully Art Nouveau interior is the Maison Tassel in Brussels of 1893.
Oh dear, that’s a whole lecture. Art Nouveau tends to be organic, it tends to be curvilinear, it tends to be based on nature, it tends to be asymmetrical. Art Deco tends to be symmetrical, and it uses geometric design, it’s more industrially influenced.