Art Nouveau: Equivoque 1900

The influence of the Art Nouveau, or New Style, was profoundly felt throughout the art, architecture and design of its day. It contradicted everything that had gone before: during the second half of the nineteenth-century, the gap between artist and manufacturer, between custom designer and mass-producer, had grown ever wider. The moving spirits of Art Nouveau attempted to reverse this trend, and soon scarcely a single household object remained untouched by the New Style, while ideas of typography, illustration and graphic design underwent a revolution. The impact on painting and sculpture was less immediate, but it did provide architecture with a new way forward.

The film indicates the widespread expression of Art Nouveau ideas, showing among many examples the furniture of Van de Velde, the ironwork of Guimard's famous Paris Métro stations, the houses of Auguste Perret, the posters of Mucha and the painting of the Symbolists.