Art Nouveau Metal Benches
Mid-20th Century Art Nouveau Benches
Aluminum
2010s Croatian Art Nouveau Benches
Brass, Nickel
Antique Early 1900s French Art Nouveau Benches
Iron
Vintage 1930s American Art Nouveau Benches
Iron
Early 20th Century French Art Nouveau Benches
Wrought Iron
Early 20th Century French Art Nouveau Benches
Wrought Iron
Mid-20th Century North American Art Nouveau Benches
Aluminum
Early 20th Century French Art Nouveau Benches
Wrought Iron
Mid-20th Century French Art Nouveau Settees
Iron
Antique Late 19th Century French Art Nouveau Benches
Metal, Iron
Vintage 1950s Spanish Art Nouveau Stools
Iron
Early 20th Century French Art Nouveau Benches
Wrought Iron
People Also Browsed
Antique Late 19th Century European Moorish Architectural Elements
Wrought Iron
Antique 19th Century European Gustavian Industrial and Work Tables
Metal, Steel
Antique 1870s French Japonisme Vases
Bronze
Antique Mid-19th Century Victorian Patio and Garden Furniture
Iron, Metal
Antique Early 1900s English Arts and Crafts Fireplace Tools and Chimney ...
Copper, Iron
Early 20th Century French Art Nouveau Table Lamps
Silver Plate
Antique 1890s French Art Nouveau Daybeds
Iron
Early 20th Century Industrial Industrial and Work Tables
Steel, Iron
Early 20th Century Benches
Cut Steel
Antique Early 1900s European French Provincial Benches
Iron
Antique 1890s French Beds and Bed Frames
Upholstery
Antique 19th Century British Country Benches
Iron
Mid-20th Century Belgian Mid-Century Modern Sideboards
Brass
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Bookcases
Wood
Antique Late 19th Century English Victorian Benches
Metal, Iron, Wrought Iron
Antique 1870s English Aesthetic Movement Patio and Garden Furniture
Iron
Recent Sales
2010s American Art Nouveau Benches
Steel
Antique Early 1900s Italian Art Nouveau Benches
Iron
Early 20th Century American Art Nouveau Patio and Garden Furniture
Iron
Vintage 1960s Swedish Art Nouveau Benches
Aluminum
Mid-20th Century Art Nouveau Patio and Garden Furniture
Wrought Iron
20th Century French Art Nouveau Benches
Wrought Iron
20th Century French Art Nouveau Patio and Garden Furniture
Iron, Wire
Antique Early 1900s Austrian Jugendstil Benches
Brass
Antique 19th Century French Art Nouveau Patio and Garden Furniture
Metal, Iron, Wrought Iron
Early 20th Century Unknown Art Nouveau Benches
Iron
20th Century French Art Nouveau Benches
Wrought Iron, Wire
Early 20th Century North American Art Nouveau Benches
Iron
20th Century American Art Nouveau Benches
Iron
20th Century American Art Nouveau Benches
Iron
Antique Early 1900s German Jugendstil Benches
Iron
Antique Early 1900s French Art Nouveau Benches
Iron
Late 20th Century Italian Art Nouveau Benches
Iron
Vintage 1910s American Art Nouveau Benches
Wrought Iron
Vintage 1920s American Art Nouveau Benches
Metal
Vintage 1910s French Art Nouveau Benches
Iron
Vintage 1930s French Art Nouveau Benches
Iron
Early 20th Century French Art Nouveau Benches
Iron, Wrought Iron
Early 20th Century Italian Art Nouveau Settees
Pewter, Brass
Antique 19th Century French Art Nouveau Patio and Garden Furniture
Iron
Antique 19th Century British Art Nouveau Patio and Garden Furniture
Iron
Art Nouveau Metal Benches For Sale on 1stDibs
How Much are Art Nouveau Metal Benches?
A Close Look at Art Nouveau Furniture
In its sinuous lines and flamboyant curves inspired by the natural world, antique Art Nouveau furniture reflects a desire for freedom from the stuffy social and artistic strictures of the Victorian era. The Art Nouveau movement developed in the decorative arts in France and Britain in the early 1880s and quickly became a dominant aesthetic style in Western Europe and the United States.
ORIGINS OF ART NOUVEAU FURNITURE DESIGN
- Emerged during the late 19th century
- Popularity of this modernizing style declined in the early 20th century
- Originated in France and Britain but variants materialized elsewhere
- Informed by Rococo, Pre-Raphaelite art, Japanese art (and Japonisme), Arts and Crafts; influenced modernism, Bauhaus
CHARACTERISTICS OF ART NOUVEAU FURNITURE DESIGN
- Sinuous, organic and flowing lines
- Forms that mimic flowers and plant life
- Decorative inlays and ornate carvings of natural-world motifs such as insects and animals
- Use of hardwoods such as oak, mahogany and rosewood
ART NOUVEAU FURNITURE DESIGNERS TO KNOW
ANTIQUE ART NOUVEAU FURNITURE ON 1STDIBS
Art Nouveau — which spanned furniture, architecture, jewelry and graphic design — can be easily identified by its lush, flowing forms suggested by flowers and plants, as well as the lissome tendrils of sea life. Although Art Deco and Art Nouveau were both in the forefront of turn-of-the-20th-century design, they are very different styles — Art Deco is marked by bold, geometric shapes while Art Nouveau incorporates dreamlike, floral motifs. The latter’s signature motif is the "whiplash" curve — a deep, narrow, dynamic parabola that appears as an element in everything from chair arms to cabinetry and mirror frames.
The visual vocabulary of Art Nouveau was particularly influenced by the soft colors and abstract images of nature seen in Japanese art prints, which arrived in large numbers in the West after open trade was forced upon Japan in the 1860s. Impressionist artists were moved by the artistic tradition of Japanese woodblock printmaking, and Japonisme — a term used to describe the appetite for Japanese art and culture in Europe at the time — greatly informed Art Nouveau.
The Art Nouveau style quickly reached a wide audience in Europe via advertising posters, book covers, illustrations and other work by such artists as Aubrey Beardsley, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Alphonse Mucha. While all Art Nouveau designs share common formal elements, different countries and regions produced their own variants.
In Scotland, the architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh developed a singular, restrained look based on scale rather than ornament; a style best known from his narrow chairs with exceedingly tall backs, designed for Glasgow tea rooms. Meanwhile in France, Hector Guimard — whose iconic 1896 entry arches for the Paris Metro are still in use — and Louis Majorelle produced chairs, desks, bed frames and cabinets with sweeping lines and rich veneers.
The Art Nouveau movement was known as Jugendstil ("Youth Style") in Germany, and in Austria the designers of the Vienna Secession group — notably Koloman Moser, Josef Hoffmann and Joseph Maria Olbrich — produced a relatively austere iteration of the Art Nouveau style, which mixed curving and geometric elements.
Art Nouveau revitalized all of the applied arts. Ceramists such as Ernest Chaplet and Edmond Lachenal created new forms covered in novel and rediscovered glazes that produced thick, foam-like finishes. Bold vases, bowls and lighting designs in acid-etched and marquetry cameo glass by Émile Gallé and the Daum Freres appeared in France, while in New York the glass workshop-cum-laboratory of Louis Comfort Tiffany — the core of what eventually became a multimedia decorative-arts manufactory called Tiffany Studios — brought out buoyant pieces in opalescent favrile glass.
Jewelry design was revolutionized, as settings, for the first time, were emphasized as much as, or more than, gemstones. A favorite Art Nouveau jewelry motif was insects (think of Tiffany, in his famed Dragonflies glass lampshade).
Like a mayfly, Art Nouveau was short-lived. The sensuous, languorous style fell out of favor early in the 20th century, deemed perhaps too light and insubstantial for European tastes in the aftermath of World War I. But as the designs on 1stDibs demonstrate, Art Nouveau retains its power to fascinate and seduce.
There are ways to tastefully integrate a touch of Art Nouveau into even the most modern interior — browse an extraordinary collection of original antique Art Nouveau furniture on 1stDibs, which includes decorative objects, seating, tables, garden elements and more.
Finding the Right Benches for You
Don’t underestimate a good bench — antique and vintage benches are storage pieces, stylish accents and statement-making additional seating.
Today, benches are a great option to maximize seating in your house and outdoor space. The perfect option to create a warm, welcoming atmosphere in foyers and entryways, benches can also transform dining areas, making it possible to host a hungry family with limited space. Whether you’re sprucing up your entertaining with upholstered Empire-style benches or adding more options to a dining room that’s seen a farmhouse makeover, this humble furnishing has only become more versatile over the years. Designers have recognized the demand for a good bench, crafting the convenient seating alternative from a range of materials, including wood, iron and even concrete.
Mid-century modern benches from George Nakashima, Charlotte Perriand and the pared-down Platform bench by George Nelson for Herman Miller are classics of innovation, but maybe you’re looking for an unconventional design approach to your home's seating. Opt for something totally outside the box — an antique pine church-pew bench paired with a vintage wool throw and stationed under the mounted coatrack in your mudroom is a distinctive touch.
For your outdoor oasis, a wrought-iron patio bench is the obvious choice but not the only option. An enclosed back patio would do well to inherit a rattan bench with cushions, but it can be susceptible to weathering and should be covered or moved indoors when not in use.
Whatever your seating arrangement needs are, find vintage, new and antique benches for every space on 1stDibs.