The Art Nouveau Style 1880-1910
The Art Nouveau style is often considered the truly first modern style, although influenced by an ample variety of historical precedents. Its more recognized characteristic is the use of the drawings and the winding forms, inspired by the natural ones. This antique style reached its greater splendor towards 1900.
This sideboard of Louis Majorelle was in the World-wide Exhibition of Paris in 1900, that was the showcase of the Art Nouveau style. The exotic wood and the silk of the bottom panels are characteristic in the artisan furniture of Majorelle. Price: more than $22.000 .
Naturalism
In the middle of 19 century, the scientific advances animated the development of a realistic representation of the nature in the decorative arts. That naturalism was helped by the new industrial techniques. However, the Art Nouveau designers reacted against this and preferred one more abstract representation of the nature, which lead to the extended use of fluid forms, inspired by stems of the plants. Between the favorite topics the ones that stood out are: the streamlined birds, flowers and insects (mainly dragonflies).
The Favrile crystal iridescence produced towards 1900 by Tiffany & Co., of New York, is one of the most characteristic products of the Art Nouveau style. The fluid form of this vase jack-in-the-pulpit follows the model of a flower. Price: $5.500-7.500 .