The influence of Art nouveau on art and music
- The sound of Experiment
- Oct 5, 2022
- 5 min read
The influence of Art nouveau on art and music
Written by Anthi Georgiadou
Presented at Rodon FM at 6.09.2022
The Peacock Skirt, by Aubrey Beardsley (1892)
1. Summary
This blog discusses the artistic movement of Art nouveau. More specifically, it focuses on its starting point, its key features and how it affected various forms of art, including music. At the bottom of the blog, there are some key compositions that were written during this period.
2. Introduction
Art nouveau was a style of art and architecture that flourished between the 1890s and early 1900s. Nature and structure were a great inspiration for this style, especially plants and flowers. Art nouveau's philosophy was that art should be a way of life. However, some critics of the movement argue that, by focusing on nature, artists limited their choices of creativity [1].
As a movement, Art nouveau was not very homogenous. Nevertheless, the movement has some key features such as form sophistication, especially those derived from nature. The second key feature is its close association with the movement of symbolism. Furthermore, Art nouveau was highly influenced by Japanese and Gothic art. The association of art nouveau with Japanese art intensified at the end of the 19th century, as the exhibitions of Japanese art organized by the Central Association of Decorative Arts (1893) and the Faculty of Fine Arts (1890) increased. Japanese art offered Art nouveau the idea of imitating natural forms and the search for intricate decorative themes. Another characteristic of Art nouveau is the artists' willingness to abolish the distances between different forms of art, which they tried to unify. For this reason, many art historians consider art nouveau as an overall style which is associated with all types of art, such as design, architecture, interior design, sculpture, furniture making, jewellery, crafts and elsewhere [2].
3. Starting Point
The Art nouveau movement has its roots in Britain. The increase in technology has allowed the rapid spread of Art nouveau. However, as early as 1910, Art nouveau had fallen into popularity [1]. The name Art nouveau was first used by contemporary art critics in Belgium and later became the name of the Paris gallery Maison de l' Art nouveau, under the direction of Samuel Bing and which specialized in contemporary works by Art nouveau artists or the sculptor Rodin [2].
4. How Art nouveau influenced the arts
The Art nouveau movement influenced architecture, interior design and decorative arts, especially lighting, household utensils and furniture [1]. In architecture, artists adopted Art nouveau as an alternative to the eclectic style that was common throughout Europe in the second half of the 19th century. The architects that followed Art nouveau expressed through the decoration of buildings. More specifically, they decorated the buildings with ornaments in a curved form based on flowers, plants, and animals. Art nouveau in architecture reached its peak in 1910, but fell out of fashion during the First World War and Art déco took its place [1].
In the Art nouveau era, graphic art and painting flourished due to the development of new printing and painting technologies. Art no longer had its place only in galleries but also in magazines and walls. The graphics related to the period depicted women as a symbol of modernity, glamour and beauty. Some of the leading graphic designers during the period of Art nouveau include Aubrey Burntzley, Eugene Grasset, Jules Ceré and Henri de Toulouse.
In the works of Art nouveau, the New Art, as the art of this era, is called almost all references to the standards of antiquity stop. Symmetry was lost, the free play of the line prevails, the decorative elements become light, and the artists are inspired by the plant and animal kingdoms (History of Art, n. d.) .
The search for decorative functionality begins, and artists started seeking for a European or international style. Another important fact is that the "smaller" or "applied" arts such as decoration, costume design, silversmithing and others are being developed (History of Art, n. d.) .
5. In music
Art nouveau influenced the entire landscape of culture, including music. Composers started writing music free of form and they started searching for originality instead of beauty. Some of the most prominent composers influenced by Art nouveau are Debussy, Satie and Ravel. Composers during this period preferred the rich texture in orchestration. Intense National sentiment is common in the music composed during this period.
6. Musical Examples
6.1. The Entertainer–Joplin (1902, 4:59)
The Entertainer is a classic rag for piano. The composer first sold as sheet music and in the 1910s as piano rolls played on players' pianos. The first recording was by the blues and ragtime musicians, the Blue Boys 1928, who played a mandolin and guitar [5].
Scott Joplin (1868-1917) was an American composer and pianist; because of the fame he achieved for his composition’s ragtime, he was called the "King of Ragtime". During his brief career, he wrote over 40 original ragtime pieces [6].
6.2. Syrinx for solo flute–Debussy (1913, 2:26)
The second example is the work Syrinx by Claude Debussy. Written in 1913. It typically is performed under three minutes [3]. The work Syrinx, L. 129, is a piece of music for the solo. It was the first major piece for solo flute after the Sonata in A minor composed by C. P. E. Bach over 150 years ago (1747[1]) and is the first such solo composition for the modern flute Böhm, developed in 1847. [2] Syrinx is considered an integral part of the repertoire of any flautist. The work gives the performer generous space for interpretation and emotion [3].
Claude Debussy (1862–1918) was a French composer. Many regard him as the first Impressionist composer, although he firmly rejected the term.
6.3. 3 Gymnopedies–Hours (1888, 4:44)
The third example of musical Art nouveau, is called Gymnopaedies by Eric Satie. He wrote it in 1888. It lasts about 4 minutes. The work Gymnopaedias is three compositions for piano. These short atmospheric compositions are written in 3/4, with each sharing a common theme and structure. The melodies of the pieces use deliberate, but mild, paraphernalia against harmony, producing a spicy, melancholic effect [7].
Eric Satie (1866- 1925) was a French composer and pianist. He studied at the Conservatory of Paris, but was an indivisible student and did not obtain a diploma. In the 1880s he worked as a pianist in a café-cabaret in Montmartre, Paris, and began composing works, mainly for solo piano, such as the Gymnopedias [7, 8].
6.4. Pavane pour une infante defunte – Ravel (1899, 6:17)
The following example of musical Art nouveau is Maurice Ravel's Pavana pour une infante. He composed it in 1899.
Maurice Ravel wrote the play Pavana about a dead princess during his studies at the Conservatory of Paris under Gabriel Fauré. Ravel himself described the work as "an invocation to the Spanish court" [9].
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. It is associated with Impressionism. In the 1920s and 1930s Ravel was internationally regarded as the greatest living composer of France [10].
6.5. Sicilienne – Faure (1893, 3:48)
The last example of is Gabriel Fauré's Siciliana number 78. It is a short work that the composer wrote in 1893 [11].
The work was originally an orchestral piece, written for a theatrical production that was abandoned. In 1898, Fauré orchestrated the unexecuted music as a work for cello and piano, and in the same year incorporated it into his incidental music for a work by Maurice Maeterlinck in orchestration for a theatre orchestration. published in 1909 [11].
Gabriel Urban Fauré (1845-1924) was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher; he was one of the most important French composers of his generation and his musical style influenced many composers of the 20th century [12].
7. Conclusion
In conclusion, the movement of Art nouveau had a tremendous influence on most art forms. Regarding music, composers highlighted freedom and the search for originality.
References
History of Art. (n.d.). Retrieved August 31, 2022, from http://ebooks.edu.gr/ebooks/v/html/8547/4706/Istoria-tis-Technis_B-G-EPAL_html-apli/
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