Art Nouveau, which takes its name from the Parisian shop of Siegried Bing, was the dominant architectural style of the 1890s to the early 1900s. The new style of decoration, although difficult to assign specific characteristics, was based on sinuous curves, inspired by Rococo forms, and often suggests organic shapes. Art Nouveau merged aestheticism socialism, and symbolism.

Examples:

ARTIST	BUILDING
Horta	Stairwell of Tassel House(1892-93), Brussels
Guimard	Metro Station(1900), Paris
Gaudi	Casa Mila apartments(1905-7), Barcelona
Mackintosh	Gasgow School of Art(1896-1910), Glasgow, Scotland
Van de Velde	Werkbund Exhibition Theater(1914), Cologne (destroyed)
Richardson	Marshall Field Wholesale Store(1885-87), Chicago (demolished)
Louis Sullivan	Wainwright Building-(1890-91), St. Louis, Missouri
Louis Sullivan	Carson Pirie Scott & Company Department Store(1899-1904), Chicago

Page last updated on April 8, 1999.
Curator: Kathryn Smolen