Art Deco Vs Art Nouveau
Art Deco and Art Nouveau are the two main revolutionary design and art movements emerging in the 19th and early 20th centuries. These arts were responsible for revolutionizing the art and design industry worldwide.
These movements started from humble beginnings in Europe and later spread to different states focusing on enhancing design and artwork.
Furthermore, these movements have similar disciplines like paintings to architecture, stained glass, or jewelry.
Besides sounding the same or having similar characteristics, these movements have differences. Understanding the different elements of these art movements is essential for art enthusiasts or if you want to venture into artwork.
Nevertheless, understanding the differences between these two design and art movements can be confusing, as they've numerous similar goals and aspects.
What is Art Nouveau?
Art Nouveau is a new art and movement that embraces the European's new industrial aesthetic more than challenging it.
This movement features naturalistic but stylized forms with geometric shapes, such as semicircles, parabolas, etc. The movement focused on different forms of the natural world that individuals hadn't used for long, like weeds, mythical fairies, insects, etc.
The designs were asymmetric and resembled organic forms, such as vegetation. Furthermore, the movement preferred curved lines to straight parallel ones. With the need for straight lines in some architecture, the architect tried to create them visually organic using different ornamentation.
What is Art Deco?
The Art Decoratifs originated from an international exposition meeting in Paris in 1925. This movement emerged in France and created a route to celebrate the dawn of the birth of the industrial age.
Art Deco adopted straight lines that architectures arranged in symmetric positions like machines to come with equally bold colors. Furthermore, the experts or architecture used lavish ornamentations to reflect the spirit of the times.
The spirit was predominantly enjoying scientific and industrialization advances and prosperity. European artists used this art to reflect movements characterized by fauvism, expressionism, cubism, etc.
Art Deco Movement, Style & Characteristics
You can recognize the movement with geometric and streamlined shapes. The architecture used modern materials like stainless steel, chrome, etc., to create these shapes.
The movement features broad curves and bold shapes from natural materials, such as jagged fern leaves and zebra skin.
What is the difference between Art Deco and Art Nouveau?
Despite the numerous similarities, Art Deco and Art Nouveau have different features or aspects. The differences range from representations, timing, and designs to additional features.
Let's look at the main difference between Art Deco and Art Nouveau: Art Nouveau comes with flowing lines and concentrates with curves. The curves were essential in making the designs or shapes attractive and bringing more inspiration.
In contrast, Art Deco focuses on sharp straight lines and corners in its design. The need for square corners and shapes made geometry a vital part of this art.
Art Nouveau has features or designs with organic and natural elements in most of its inspirations or designs. At the same time, Art Deco focuses on achieving perfect angles, circles, and forms for different shapes or designs.
This movement didn't focus on flowing curves or figures to create attractive designs or shapes. Flora plays an integral role in Art Nouveau, as the movement concentrated on imagined and real animal and insect representation.
Architectures used bats, dragonflies, and birds to decorate most designs to achieve much-needed attractiveness. In contrast, geometry was key in Art Deco, as this minimalistic movement focused on creating perfect circles, angles, or shapes.
Modern Art Vs. Contemporary Art - What's The Difference?
Art Nouveau comes with some geometry but in small quantities as the movement focuses on creating curving edges or lines rather than hard edges. The turning edges made the shapes and designs more floral, decorative, and flowing to enhance their attractiveness.
In contrast, experts characterized Art Deco with pure geometric shapes. These shapes didn't have curving edges, which made them less attractive than the Art Nouveau shapes or designs. Organic and forming shapes or forms defined Art Nouveau.
These forms showed a clear response to the artist's desire to have or break free from the hierarchical and classical structures. In contrast, streamlined and bolder designs represented Art Deco's main representation.
These features illustrated or showed the glamorization of an industrial revolution. Remember, this movement came after World War I.
What came first, Art Nouveau or Art Deco?
Despite the numerous similarities, these art movements, Art Nouveau and Art Deco have different timings. Experts reveal that Art Nouveau came first and lasted from 1880 to 1914.
This movement focused on creating attractive designs and shapes with flowing lines and curves during this period. Art Deco came later and this art movement came shortly after World War I, making it a vital political strategy or tool.
Art Deco's timing was vital politically because the earlier movement (Art Nouveau) focused on escapism and whimsical romance during the pre-war society. It formed part of the post-war celebrations marking the end of the conflict.
The Art Deco painting, together with flippers, party fevers, and jazz music, provided evidence of the joy coming after resolving the conflict.
Naturalism Art Vs Realism, What Is Difference?
Bottom Line
Art Deco and Art Nouveau are vital movements in the art and design field. They play a crucial role in helping you understand the revolution of different designs and artworks.
Besides showing the revolution of art and design works, it has numerous benefits to enhancing attraction and aesthetics. Despite the numerous similarities between these two movements, there are differences you need to understand about them.
The difference runs from the timing, the features, and things that set the design movements to aesthetics. Understanding these differences will be vital for your design and art needs.
