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Art Nouveau Building and Garden Elements

ART NOUVEAU STYLE

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

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.

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Item type: New and Made To Order
Style: Art Nouveau
Polished Solid Brass Batlló door handle by Antoni Gaudi, 20th century design
Located in Barcelona, ES
Solid cast brass with polished finish. A company that has always attributed such great importance to the author of the designs could never forget the great figures in history. That is why the BD catalogue of contemporary creations has always included those by admired classical masters. Antoni Gaudí (1852/1926) is, without doubt, the most internationally well-known Spanish architect. But is not only his buildings and brilliant architectural solutions that have travelled the globe. His integrated conception of architecture led him to pay attention, not only to structural calculations, but also to all the decorative elements, including furniture, that would form part of the building. The admiration felt by modern designers for the furniture designed by Gaudí has not gone unnoticed by BD which was the first company to rescue them from history by embarking on their serial production using...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Art Nouveau Building and Garden Elements

Materials

Brass

20th Century Door Knob model "Milà no.3" by Antoni Gaudi Polished Solid Brass
Located in Barcelona, ES
Solid cast brass with polished finish. A company that has always attributed such great importance to the author of the designs could never forget the great figures in history. That is why the BD catalogue of contemporary creations has always included those by admired classical masters. Antoni Gaudí (1852/1926) is, without doubt, the most internationally well-known Spanish architect. But is not only his buildings and brilliant architectural solutions that have travelled the globe. His integrated conception of architecture led him to pay attention, not only to structural calculations, but also to all the decorative elements, including furniture, that would form part of the building. The admiration felt by modern designers for the furniture designed by Gaudí has not gone unnoticed by BD which was the first company to rescue them from history by embarking on their serial production using...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Art Nouveau Building and Garden Elements

Materials

Brass

Polished Solid Brass Batilló butterfly Knob fix by Antoni Gaudi
Located in Barcelona, ES
Solid cast brass with polished finish. A company that has always attributed such great importance to the author of the designs could never forget the great figures in history. That is why the BD catalogue of contemporary creations has always included those by admired classical masters. Antoni Gaudí (1852/1926) is, without doubt, the most internationally well-known Spanish architect. But is not only his buildings and brilliant architectural solutions that have travelled the globe. His integrated conception of architecture led him to pay attention, not only to structural calculations, but also to all the decorative elements, including furniture, that would form part of the building. The admiration felt by modern designers for the furniture designed by Gaudí has not gone unnoticed by BD which was the first company to rescue them from history by embarking on their serial production using...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Art Nouveau Building and Garden Elements

Materials

Brass

Door knob mdoel "Milà no.4" by Antoni Polished Brass Gaudi 20th Century Design
Located in Barcelona, ES
Solid cast brass with polished finish. Antoni Gaudí (1852 - 1926) is among the most internationally famous Spanish architects, his unorthodox approach is still considered ground-bre...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Art Nouveau Building and Garden Elements

Materials

Brass

Polished Solid Brass Batlló butterfly Handle by Antoni Gaudi 20th Century Design
Located in Barcelona, ES
Solid cast brass door handle with polished finish. Antoni Gaudí (1852 - 1926) is among the most internationally famous Spanish architects, his unorthodox approach is still considere...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Art Nouveau Building and Garden Elements

Materials

Brass

French 1900s Design Bistro Outdoor Chair In Rattan and Braided Resin
Located in Tourcoing, FR
French 1900s Bistro Design rattan and braided resin outdoor chair composed of a rattan structure, braided resin rattan effect back and seat, famou...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary French Art Nouveau Building and Garden Elements

Materials

Rattan, Resin

French 1900s Design Bistro Outdoor Chair Rattan and Braided Resin
Located in Tourcoing, FR
French 1900s Bistro Design rattan and braided resin outdoor chair composed of a rattan structure, braided resin rattan effect back and seat with a...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary French Art Nouveau Building and Garden Elements

Materials

Rattan, Resin

Door knob in solid brass model "Milà no.1" by Antoni Gaudi 20th century Spanish
Located in Barcelona, ES
Solid cast brass with polished finish. A company that has always attributed such great importance to the author of the designs could never forget the great figures in history. That is why the BD catalogue of contemporary creations has always included those by admired classical masters. Antoni Gaudí (1852/1926) is, without doubt, the most internationally well-known Spanish architect. But is not only his buildings and brilliant architectural solutions that have travelled the globe. His integrated conception of architecture led him to pay attention, not only to structural calculations, but also to all the decorative elements, including furniture, that would form part of the building. The admiration felt by modern designers for the furniture designed by Gaudí has not gone unnoticed by BD which was the first company to rescue them from history by embarking on their serial production using...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Art Nouveau Building and Garden Elements

Materials

Brass

Jugendstil Josef Hoffman/ Wiener Werkstätte Flower-Table Flower Stand, Reedition
Located in Vienna, AT
Flower-table from the very early phase of the Wiener Werkstatte, circa 1903-1905. Exhibition: Moderne Vergangenheit, Wien 1981, Nr. 253 sowie Titelabb.; Exhib.- Kat, Josef Hoffmann W...
Category

2010s Austrian Art Nouveau Building and Garden Elements

Materials

Brass

Set of 2 Polished Solid Brass Batlló Door Handle by Antoni Gaudi
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Set of 2 Polished Solid Brass Batlló Door Handle by Antoni Gaudi Materials: Brass Dimensions: D 4 cm x W 10 cm x H 15 cm. Solid cast brass with polished finish. Ab...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Art Nouveau Building and Garden Elements

Materials

Brass

Ok! Polished Solid Brass Door Knob Milà No.3 by Antoni Gaudi
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Polished Solid Brass Door Knob Milà no.3 by Antoni Gaudi Materials: Brass Dimensions: D 5 cm x W 5 cm x H 5 cm. Solid cast brass ...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Art Nouveau Building and Garden Elements

Materials

Brass

OK! Polished Solid Brass Door knob Milà no.4 by Antoni Gaudi
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Polished Solid Brass Door Knob Milà no.3 by Antoni Gaudi Materials: Brass Dimensions: D 4 cm x W 4 cm x H 4 cm. Solid cast brass ...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Art Nouveau Building and Garden Elements

Materials

Brass

Door Knob in Solid Brass Milà No.1 by Antoni Gaudi
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Door knob in solid brass Milà no.1 by Antoni Gaudi Materials: Brass Dimensions: D 6 cm x W 6 cm x H 10 cm. Solid cast brass with polished finish. About item: A co...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Art Nouveau Building and Garden Elements

Materials

Brass

Large Wiener Werkstaette Koloman Moser Flower Stand, Jardiniere, Re-Edition
Located in Vienna, AT
Designed and originally manufactured for the early showrooms of the Wiener Werkstaette in Vienna VII, Neustiftgasse 32-34 - Model# M 0182 The diameter of the pots is 16cm Punch...
Category

2010s Austrian Art Nouveau Building and Garden Elements

Materials

Iron

Polished Solid Brass Calvet Door Handle by Antoni Gaudi
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Polished Solid Brass Calvet Door Handle by Antoni Gaudi Materials: Brass Dimensions: D 2 cm x W 23 cm x H 11 cm. Solid cast brass with polished finish. About item:...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Art Nouveau Building and Garden Elements

Materials

Brass

Polished Solid Brass Calvet Peep, Hole by Antoni Gaudi
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Polished Solid Brass Calvet Peep - Hole by Antoni Gaudi Materials: Brass Dimensions: D 2 cm x W 17 cm x H 17 cm. Solid cast brass with polished finish. About item:...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Art Nouveau Building and Garden Elements

Materials

Brass

Polished Solid Brass Batlló Door Handle by Antoni Gaudi, Individual Item
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Polished Solid Brass Batlló door handle by Antoni Gaudi - individual item Materials: Brass Dimensions: D 4 cm x W 10 cm x H 15 cm. Solid cast brass with polished fini...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Art Nouveau Building and Garden Elements

Materials

Brass

Polished Solid Brass Batlló Butterfly Rotary by Antoni Gaudi
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Polished Solid Brass Batlló butterfly Rotary by Antoni Gaudi Materials: Brass Dimensions: D 4 cm x W 3 cm x H 5 cm. Solid cast brass with polished finish. About it...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Art Nouveau Building and Garden Elements

Materials

Brass

Door knob solid brass model "Milà no.1" Antoni Gaudi Spanish modernism design
Located in Barcelona, ES
Solid cast brass with polished finish. A company that has always attributed such great importance to the author of the designs could never forget the great figures in history. That is why the BD catalogue of contemporary creations has always included those by admired classical masters. Antoni Gaudí (1852/1926) is, without doubt, the most internationally well-known Spanish architect. But is not only his buildings and brilliant architectural solutions that have travelled the globe. His integrated conception of architecture led him to pay attention, not only to structural calculations, but also to all the decorative elements, including furniture, that would form part of the building. The admiration felt by modern designers for the furniture designed by Gaudí has not gone unnoticed by BD which was the first company to rescue them from history by embarking on their serial production using...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Art Nouveau Building and Garden Elements

Materials

Brass

Polished Solid Brass Batlló Door Handle by Antoni Gaudi - Set of 2
Located in Barcelona, ES
Solid cast brass with polished finish. A company that has always attributed such great importance to the author of the designs could never forget the great figures in history. That is why the BD catalogue of contemporary creations has always included those by admired classical masters. Antoni Gaudí (1852/1926) is, without doubt, the most internationally well-known Spanish architect. But is not only his buildings and brilliant architectural solutions that have travelled the globe. His integrated conception of architecture led him to pay attention, not only to structural calculations, but also to all the decorative elements, including furniture, that would form part of the building. The admiration felt by modern designers for the furniture designed by Gaudí has not gone unnoticed by BD which was the first company to rescue them from history by embarking on their serial production using...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Art Nouveau Building and Garden Elements

Materials

Brass

Calvet Door Handle by Antoni Gaudí
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Calvet door handle by Antoni Gaudí. Solid cast brass with polished finish. An exact reproduction in both form and material original metalwork fittings designed by Antoni Gaudí ...
Category

2010s Spanish Art Nouveau Building and Garden Elements

Materials

Brass

Antoni Gaudí, Jugendstil, Brass Door Knob N.1 Mila for BD
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Solid cast brass with polished finish. An exact reproduction in both form and material original metalwork fittings designed by Antoni Gaudí for various of his works of architectur...
Category

2010s Spanish Art Nouveau Building and Garden Elements

Materials

Brass

Door Handle Solid Brass Calvet Peep - Hole by Antoni Gaudi Spanish Design
Located in Barcelona, ES
Mirilla / Peep hole "Calvet" 170x170 mm 2,2 kg Polished Brass Before reissuing Gaudí’s furniture, BD, together with the architect David Ferrer, faithfully reproduced some of the ...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Art Nouveau Building and Garden Elements

Materials

Brass

Door Handle model "Calvet" by Antoni Gaudi Polished Solid Brass 20th Century
Located in Barcelona, ES
Before reissuing Gaudí’s furniture, BD, together with the architect David Ferrer, faithfully reproduced some of the metalwork pieces designed by Gaudí between 1902 and 1910 for Casa ...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Art Nouveau Building and Garden Elements

Materials

Brass

Custom-Crafted Art Nouveau Style Wrought Iron Gate with Stylized Flower
By Ron Moore
Located in San Francisco, CA
A custom-crafted Art Nouveau style wrought iron gate with stylized flower; of assymetrical form with a lively floral head emanating from one corner; with artist's initials 'RSM'.
Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Art Nouveau Building and Garden Elements

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Golden "Figa" Single Door Handle in Cast Brass by Estudio Orth
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Solid Brass Door Knobs Mineral Inspiration 5 x 3 cm
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Previously Available Items
Door knob in solid brass Milà no.1 by Antoni Gaudi
Located in Barcelona, ES
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21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Art Nouveau Building and Garden Elements

Materials

Brass

Door knob in solid brass Batlló no.2 by Antoni Gaudi
Located in Barcelona, ES
Solid cast brass with polished finish. A company that has always attributed such great importance to the author of the designs could never forget the great figures in history. Tha...
Category

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Materials

Brass

Antoni Gaudí, Jugendstil, Brass Door Knob Batlló Butterfly / Expo
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Solid cast brass with polished finish. An exact reproduction in both form and material original metalwork fittings designed by Antoni Gaudí for various of his works of architectur...
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2010s Spanish Art Nouveau Building and Garden Elements

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Brass

French 1900s Design Bistro Rattan Wicker and Braided Resin Outdoor Chair
Located in Tourcoing, FR
French Bistro Design rattan and braided resin chair composed of a rattan structure, braided resin rattan effect back and seat with a red outline, famous ...
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Art Nouveau building and garden elements for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a broad range of unique Art Nouveau building and garden elements for sale on 1stDibs. Many of these items were first offered in the 21st Century and Contemporary, but contemporary artisans have continued to produce works inspired by this style. If you’re looking to add vintage building and garden elements created in this style to your space, the works available on 1stDibs include building and garden elements, decorative objects, tables and other home furnishings, frequently crafted with metal, ceramic and other materials. If you’re shopping for used Art Nouveau building and garden elements made in a specific country, there are Europe, France, and Belgium pieces for sale on 1stDibs. While there are many designers and brands associated with original building and garden elements, popular names associated with this style include Antoni Gaudí, OTHR, BD Art Editions , and Gilliot. It’s true that these talented designers have at times inspired knockoffs, but our experienced specialists have partnered with only top vetted sellers to offer authentic pieces that come with a buyer protection guarantee. Prices for building and garden elements differ depending upon multiple factors, including designer, materials, construction methods, condition and provenance. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $75 and tops out at $160,819 while the average work can sell for $2,126.

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