20th Century Furniture Design: Art Nouveau, Edwardian Era & Art Deco... (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between Art Nouveau and Art Deco furniture? ›

Art Deco often used zigzags and chevrons (or upside down V figures) and was rectilinear, with an emphasis on the vertical. While Art Nouveau features curving lines and organic forms, Art Deco is industrial and full of sharp edges. By looking at examples of both, you can understand their differences.

Art Nouveau and Art Deco are two of the defining art movements of the 20th century, influencing all elements of visual culture, from fine art and design, to architecture and graphic arts. Where Art Nouveau celebrates elegant curves and long lines, Art Deco consists of sharp angles and geometrical shapes.

Whilst Art Nouveau pieces were expensive and popular amongst the upper classes (focussing on design, ornamentation and craftsmanship), Edwardian furniture was smaller in scale and the designs were simpler, making them cheaper to produce and easier to fit in the more modest home.

Design: Look for delicate, flowing designs in Edwardian jewelry versus bold, geometric patterns in Art Deco. Motifs: Floral and romantic motifs suggest Edwardian, while symmetrical and exotic motifs are typical of Art Deco.

It characteristically used forms based on nature, such as vines, flowers and water lilies, and featured curving and undulating lines, sometimes known as the whiplash line, both in the form and the decoration.

First, Art Deco furniture designs are often meticulously crafted using exotic woods, materials and lacquer. The craftsmanship technique involves inlays of exotic woods such as Macassar ebony, zebrawood and rosewood. Second, the piece is lacquered, often with Japanese lacquer to give off a dazzling gloss.

Can Art Deco Be Mixed with Art Nouveau? Yes, Art Deco and Art Nouveau have been used alongside each other in modern decorative design. Contemporary art frequently merges geometric Art Deco patterns with the organic shapes and curves of Art Nouveau.

From its outset, Art Deco was influenced by the bold geometric forms of Cubism and the Vienna Secession; the bright colours of Fauvism and of the Ballets Russes; the updated craftsmanship of the furniture of the eras of Louis XVI and Louis Philippe I; and the exoticized styles of art from China, Japan, India, Persia, ...

The characteristic features of Art Deco reflect admiration for the modernity of the machine and for the inherent design qualities of machine-made objects—e.g., relative simplicity, planarity, symmetry, and unvaried repetition of elements.

Edwardian furniture refers to antique furniture made during the reign of King Edward who ruled between 1901 and 1910. Unlike Victorian furniture, Edwardian furniture is more delicate by design and features less heavy, ornate decoration.

How can you tell if something is Art Nouveau? ›

Art Nouveau, ornamental style of art that flourished between about 1890 and 1910 throughout Europe and the United States. Art Nouveau is characterized by its use of a long, sinuous, organic line and was employed most often in architecture, interior design, jewelry and glass design, posters, and illustration.

By 1914, with the beginning of the First World War, Art Nouveau was largely exhausted. In the 1920s, it was replaced as the dominant architectural and decorative art style by Art Deco and then Modernism.

They are: Zigzag, or Jazz Moderne; WPA, or Classical Moderne; and Streamline Moderne. This is the earliest style of Art Deco architecture. In the U.S. it traces its origins to the Chicago Tribune competition of 1922 and the rendering studies of Hugh Ferriss.

The once-glamorous Deco style and the notion of excess were no longer apropos and so the style evolved into a less flashy version known as Streamline Moderne. Art Deco fell out of favor in 1939 with the start of World War II and the emergence of modernism.

Art Deco buildings have a sleek, linear appearance with stylized, often geometric ornamentation. The primary façade of Art Deco buildings often feature a series of set backs that create a stepped outline. Low-relief decorative panels can be found at entrances, around windows, along roof edges or as string courses.

The single most instantly recognisable sign of the Art Nouveau style is the sinuous whiplash line, or 'coup de fouet'. In contrast, Art Deco concentrated more on stylised representations of natural forms, employing geometry, vertical lines, and an absence of three-dimensional decoration.

Tiffany was renowned in America and Europe for developing the Art Nouveau into elegant, yet simple, products, as well as grand, large-scale objects like stained glass windows and elaborate electric lighting.

Both styles were popular in Europe and the United States, but Art Nouveau flourished earlier, between 1890 and 1910; Art Deco reached its height in the late 1920s and early '30s.

Art deco furniture is characterized by symmetrical, clean, rectilinear lines. It combines traditional craftsmanship with modern machinery and materials. Its beauty lies in the use of rich, exotic materials and opulent designs.