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Art Nouveau Textiles

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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Style: Art Nouveau
Woven Cushion or Pillow in Art Nouveau Floral Vine Style, 20th Century
Located in Lincoln, Lincolnshire
This is a very attractive woven tapestry pillow or cushion with an Art Nouveau style floral design, which we date to the second half of the 20th ...
Category

20th Century English Art Nouveau Textiles

Materials

Fabric

Art Nouveau 19th Century Velvet Wall Hanging
Located in Doha, QA
Magnificent very thick hand-woven velvet wall hanging with unique and typical Art Nouveau design. This beautiful decorative piece of art has a heav...
Category

19th Century French Antique Art Nouveau Textiles

Materials

Wool, Velvet

A Pair of Fortuny Fabric Cushions in the Jupon Pattern
Located in New York, NY
A Fortuny fabric cushion in the Jupon pattern, ivory silk backs and silk bias edging Newly made using vintage Fortuny fabric, circa 1960 50 down/50 feather insert.
Category

2010s American Art Nouveau Textiles

Materials

Cotton, Linen, Silk

Hand Embroidered Cushion or Pillow, English circa 1940s
Located in Lincoln, Lincolnshire
This is a very decorative cushion or pillow with hand embroidered stylised flowers, which we date to the mid-20th century, circa 1940. The pillow is about 15 inches square. The...
Category

Mid-20th Century English Art Nouveau Textiles

Materials

Fabric

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Previously Available Items
20th Century Easter Needlepoint Round Pillow
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Antique french white linen tablecloth and napkin set, circa 1900 Art Nouveau
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Gorgeous Art Nouveau Zodiac La Plume Silk Scarf after Alphonse Mucha
Located in North Hollywood, CA
Gorgeous silk scarf in mint pristine condition. Alphonse Mucha Art Nouveau Zodiac La Plume Silk Scarf. Silk twill scarf with Art Nouveau image after Alphonse Mucha’s La Plume. The scarf features an image of a woman with long blonde hair with a zodiac wheel...
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Red Fur Pillow, Mongolian Sheepskin Cushion
Located in Dural, AU
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Red Fur Pillow, Mongolian Sheepskin Cushion
Red Fur Pillow, Mongolian Sheepskin Cushion
H 17.72 in W 17.72 in D 7.88 in
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Located in New York, NY
Square pillow made from a border of vintage Turkish Oushak rug. Measures: 17” x 17”.
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Soft Peach Green Oushak Pillow
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Art Nouveau Cushion or Pillow hand Embroidered, Circa 1900
Located in Lincoln, Lincolnshire
This is a very decorative cushion or pillow with a hand embroidered Art Nouveau wool-work floral panel with a red silk border, all set into a red fabric which we date to the late 19th Century / early 20th Century, circa 1900. The pillow is about 17 inches square and is very well made. The decoration features a central square hand embroidered wool-work panel of flowers and foliage in varying shades of red, pink, green and yellow all against a black ground, with a deep red silk outer border. The stylised floral embroidered design is very Art Nouveau. The embroidered & bordered panel is stitched onto a red fabric. It is possible that the Art Nouveau panel...
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Early 20th Century English Art Nouveau Textiles

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Art Nouveau European Textile, 1900s
Located in Istanbul, TR
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Art Nouveau European Textile, 1900s
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H 83.47 in W 63.78 in D 0.4 in
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Located in Alessandria, Piemonte
Rare elegant wall supports for curtains or tiebacks. Photos example on request . O/5418.
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Large Antique Textile Bloster
Located in New Orleans, LA
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A Pair of Fortuny Fabric Cushions in the Granada Pattern
Located in New York, NY
A pair of Fortuny fabric cushions in the Granada pattern, yellow and silvery gold color way with silk bias edging and silk blend backing, the pattern, a modern Spanish design named f...
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Art Nouveau textiles for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a broad range of unique Art Nouveau textiles for sale on 1stDibs. While there are many designers and brands associated with original textiles, popular names associated with this style include and One Nine Eight Five. 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.

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