Art Nouveau

Through the first thoroughly annotated examination of books, articles, exhibition catalogs, and unpublished dissertations, the Art Nouveau period (1890-1905) is revealed as an era dedicated to design reform in all areas of the visual arts. An introductory essay examines the central issues addressed in the literature of the era: the unification of the arts, the necessity for change, the diversion from historical sources, and the importance of providing new directions with new materials. This opening essay presents the ways in which the bibliography is organized. Architecture, interior decoration, furniture, jewelry, bookbinding, posters, ceramics, glass, wallpaper, and textiles, are the subjects of critical documentation; annotated bibliographic entries provide evidence for the spread of design changes in France, Belgium, England, and the United States. These annotated entries are drawn from substantial literature of the actual period under investigation; later publications (until 1996) demonstrate the changes in ways in which the Art Nouveau period has been studied. The entries provide a chronological dimension to the critical literature, they also demonstrate the ways in which certain artists or issues have been studied at given moments in time.