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
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.
Art Nouveau Klismos Chair by Sophy A. Christensen, Denmark, C. 1905
Located in Valby, 84
Chair of klismos form in figured birch, the broad rectangular back panel painted with a scene depicting a musician playing the aulos accompanied by a dancing female figure amid styli...
Birch, Paint
Original Josef Hoffmann, Chair, Model# 330 from 1900
Located in Vienna, AT
Exhibition: chairs for a dining room in: Winter Exhibition of the Austrian Museum for Art and Industry, Vienna, late 1901; exhibition in Saint Louis, 1904, beechwood, stained to simu...
Beech
Extremely rare and beautiful Otto Wagner Chair by Thonet 1901
By Gebrüder Thonet Vienna GmbH, Otto Wagner, Woka Lamps
Located in Vienna, AT
Stained beachwood, seat and back with fabric, seat height 46cm (18,11') Presented first at the Expo Paris 1900, in a setting by Josef Hoffmann for the Wiener Kunstgewerbeschulle Li...
Beech
Set of 4 Bat Chairs by Josef Hoffmann for Wittmann Austria
Located in Nürnberg, Bayern
The wood is a feast for the eyes. The seat cushions need replacing, as they have holes and wear marks. The back cushions are OK, but probably need reupholstering too.
Elm
Bentwood Chair By Harnisch & Co. Wiena 1880
By Thonet
Located in Čelinac, BA
Harnisch & Co. Benrwood Chair Wiena 1880
Bentwood
Original Josef Hoffmann & Kohn Jacob Chair from 1914
By Josef Hoffmann, Gebrüder Thonet Vienna GmbH, Woka Lamps
Located in Vienna, AT
A very rare undocumented chair by Josef Hoffmann and J&J Kohn. An identical chair with leather upholstery is available as well.
Bentwood
Art Nouveau Chair, Walnut Wood, Restored Upholstery, Germany, 1900
Located in Hannover, DE
An Art Nouveau chair whose shape and design perfectly reflect this art period. Finely crafted walnut wood covered with a dark, fine glaze. This chair has been artfully restored and r...
Wood, Nutwood
Wittmann - Josef Hoffmann - Fledermaus - Chair (6) - Beech
Located in Budapest, HU
This remarkable set of six **Fledermaus chairs**, designed by the visionary Austrian architect **Josef Hoffmann** in the early 1900s and masterfully crafted by **Wittmann**, represen...
Leather, Beech
ART NOUVEAU CHAIR by THONET + JACOB & JOSEF KOHN WIENER WERKSTATTE Austria 1900
Located in PARIS, FR
An exceptional and extremely rare Model N°6009 chair with armrests, Art Nouveau, Art Deco, in dark brown bended & lacquered wood, with superb backrest and airy armrests in folded woo...
Wood
Set of Original Josef Hoffmann / Otto Prutscher Attr. Chairs
By Woka Lamps, Josef Hoffmann, Otto Prutscher
Located in Vienna, AT
Very elegant and comfortable chairs attributed to Josef Hoffmann or Otto Prutscher. Has been rennovated over a while, the fabric is partly stained. Can be sold separately.
Wood
Thonet Vienna Wooden Childrens Chair, Austria, 1900s
By Thonet, Gebrüder Thonet Vienna GmbH
Located in Vienna, AT
A lovely wooden chair for children by Thonet Vienna, dated around 1900. In good, original condition with nice patina. Labelled and stamped.
Wood
Josef Hoffmann attr. Pair of Extraordinary Chairs 1905-10 Jugendstil Art Nouveau
Located in Vienna, AT
A pair of extraordinary chairs in the style of the early Josef Hoffmann furniture. The significant skids were used by Hoffmann in the early years of the Wiener Werkstätte from 1903 o...
Fabric, Wood
1 Seater - Raka x Shirwani
By Raka Studio
Located in Cape Girardeau, MO
A single-seater chair designed and produced by Raka Studio and finished in collaboration with Hamza Khan Shirwani. Made in solid ashwood by bending wood....
Bentwood, Paint
Pair of Art Nouveau Side Chairs by Thorvald Bindesbøll, Denmark, C. 1890
Located in Valby, 84
A pair of side chairs in oak, each with an upholstered back panel with rope-twist border detail flanked by turned uprights with urn finials, the upholstered seat above a plain frieze...
Wool, Oak
Charles Rennie Mackintosh Pair of Hill House Chairs by Cassina
By Cassina, Charles Rennie Mackintosh
Located in Highland, IN
Designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh in 1904 for the Hill House in Helensburgh, near Glasgow, Scotland, the "Hill House 1 chair" is an icon of modern design which relates directly t...
Upholstery, Ash
Antoni Gaudi, Jugendstil, Solid Oak Batllo Spanish Chairs
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Batllo chair designed by Antoni Gaudi, circa 1906 and manufactured by BD furniture in Barcelona. Solid varnished oak Measures: 47 x 52 x 74 H.cm ...
Oak
Beautiful Set of 3 Thonet Wood Garden Chair 'Gartensessel No. 4', circa 1900
By Thonet
Located in Steinheim am Albuch, BW
Timeless and rare set of three solid wooden Thonet garden chairs made in Austria. The garden chair no. 4 has a knotted structure which was first designed by Gebrüder Thonet in the l...
Wood
Set of 8 Rare Wojciechów Thonet Chairs
By Thonet
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Set of 8 Wojciechów Thonet chairs. Original tags. Rare as a set of 8. Nice set of pre-war bentwood chairs signed Wojciechów, the first Polish bentwood furniture factory. It was foun...
Bentwood
Pair Of Art Nouveau Thonet Chairs by Josef Hoffmann, 1st edition! - CZ ca. 1906
By Thonet, Josef Hoffmann
Located in Lichtenberg, AT
Very rare pair of the first edition(!) of bentwood chairs by Thonet from the early 20th century, produced by Thonet in Bohemia. Designed around 1906 by none other than the world reno...
Leather, Bentwood
Pair of Antoni Gaudi, Modernist, Solid Varnished Oak, Batllo Spanish Chairs
By Antoni Gaudí
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Batllo chairs designed by Antoni Gaudi, circa 1906. Manufactured by BD furniture in Barcelona. Solid varnished oak Measures: 47 x 52 x 74 H cm.
Wood
Calvet Stool by Antoni Gaudí Re-Edited by BD Design
By Antoni Gaudí, BD Barcelona Design
Located in Oud Beijerland, NL
Introducing a true masterpiece of design, the Calvet stool by the renowned Spanish architect, Antoni Gaudi. Manufactured circa 1970 by BD Design, this stool is a testament to Gaudi'...
Oak
Josef Hoffmann Armchair: Viennese Secession Design, 1902
Located in Klosterneuburg, AT
This piece is a significant example of furniture designed by Josef Hoffmann, created as a variation of the furnishings for the apartment of Dr. Salzer. Its strict, architectural desi...
Softwood
Mid-19th Century Scandinavian Armchair in Stained Oak, reupholstered in Bouclé.
Located in København K, 84
Elegant 19th century Scandinavian Art Nouveau armchair in solid stained oak upholstered in premium boucle fabric. Despite its age, this armchair is in remarkable condition, a testa...
Bouclé, Oak
Set of 4 Thonet dining chairs model 17
By Thonet
Located in Ceglie Messapica, IT
Set of 4 Thonet dining chairs model 17 This exceptional set of four bentwood beech chairs, produced by the renowned manufacturer Thonet, features the iconic Model 17, more commonly ...
Bentwood, Straw, Beech
Original Wiener Werkstätte, Josef Hoffmann Chair, 1912
By Woka Lamps, Wiener Werkstätte, Josef Hoffmann
Located in Vienna, AT
An excellent example of the more decorative phase of Josef Hoffmann, before the WW1. Carpenter Jakob Soulek for the Wiener Werkstätte. Exhibited first in 1912 at the Museum für Kunst...
Pearwood
Set of Two Art Nouveau Oak Chairs, circa 1900
Located in Darmstadt, DE
Elegant pair of Art Nouveau chairs crafted in solid oak around 1900. The chairs display the graceful lines and flowing organic forms typical of the Art Nouveau period, with finely cu...
Oak, Fabric
Eliel Saarinen "Hannes" Armchairs for Adelta Oy, Finland, 20th Century
Located in Andes, NY
A pair of Hannes armchairs designed by Eliel Saarinen in 1908 and reproduced by Adelta Oy, Finland in the 80s. Executed in solid mahogany wood with crocodile embossed fabric padded s...
Mahogany
Spanish Art Nouveau Antoni Gaudi Style Pair of Carved Ashwood Side Chairs
Located in Barcelona, ES
A pair of Art Nouveau chairs made of carved ashwood and upholstered with their original floral velvet fabric. These stylish hand carved chai...
Velvet, Wood
1900s Marcel Kammerer Chair No.6517 for Thonet, Austria
Located in Praha, CZ
- newly upholstered in Backhausen fabric - carefully refurbished and finished with ebony shellac - Height of seat 47 cm.
Fabric, Wood
Jugendstil, Art Nouveau, Liberty Chair, 1900, France
Located in Ciudad Autónoma Buenos Aires, C
Chair Jugendstil, Art Nouveau, Liberty Material: Wood Country:France We have specialized in the sale of Art Deco and Art Nouveau and Vintage styles since 1982.If you have any questi...
Wood
Art Nouveau Set of Ten Chairs in Solid Oak. Vienna, Circa 1910.
Located in Vienna, AT
Hello, These exceptional set of ten Viennese Art Nouveau solid oak chairs from circa 1910 represent a high level of craftsmanship and elegant design. Viennese Art Nouveau is a trend...
Leather, Oak
Original Otto Prutscher & Gebrueder Thonet Vienna Jugendstil Chair, 20th Century
By Otto Prutscher, Woka Lamps, Gebrüder Thonet Vienna GmbH
Located in Vienna, AT
Designed for the Café Heinrichshof opposite to the States Opera House in Vienna, ruined in 1945.
Hardwood
Original Josef Hoffmann and Wiener Werkstätte Chair Early 20th Century 1903
By Josef Hoffmann, Woka Lamps, Wiener Werkstätte
Located in Vienna, AT
A very rare chair from the early stages of the Wiener Werkstätte. Variations were displayed at the Neustiftgasse showrooms of the Werkstatte and were also placed at the Brauner Mansi...
Fabric, Beech
Set of six Art Nouveau style chairs with grape wood inlays
Located in Milano, IT
Set of Six Italian Liberty Style Chairs - Early 20th Century with Carved Grape Motifs and Original Leather Add a touch of timeless elegance and refined Italian craftsmanship to your ...
Wood, Leather
Harnisch and Co chair Wiena 1880s Set of Two
Located in Čelinac, BA
Wiena 1880s chair by Harnisch Co
Bentwood
Early 20th Century, Set of 4 Danish Art Nouveau Dining Chairs, Burl & Velvet
Located in Odense, DK
A refined set of four Danish dining chairs made in burl wood, dating to the early 20th century, circa 1900–1915, a period closely associated with Danish Art Nouveau, also known as Sk...
Fabric, Textile, Velvet, Wood
Batlló Chair, By Antoni Gaudí, Varnished Oak, Spanish Modernism
By Antoni Gaudí
Located in Barcelona, ES
Solid varnished oak. 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 cata...
Oak
Pair of Original Josef Hoffmann & Wiener Werkstätte Chairs 1904 Jugendstil
By Wiener Werkstätte, Josef Hoffmann, Woka Lamps
Located in Vienna, AT
Josef Hoffmann designed in the early stages of the Wiener Werkstätte apartments for the Wittgenstein Family in Vienna and Berlin. The significant pattern from this period were the st...
Fabric, Wood
Original 1902 Armchair #507, Wilhelm Schmidt, Prag Rudniker
By Wilhelm Schmidt, Woka Lamps
Located in Vienna, AT
Secessionist armchair, designed by the Student of Josef Hoffmann Wilhelm Schmidt, Vienna, c. 1902, for the Prag-Rudniker basketwork factory, elm, woven cane, height 84 cm, width 54 c...
Elm
Émile Gallé "Ombelle" Side Chair
By Émile Gallé
Located in New York, NY
Gallé first designed the Ombelle chairs to great critical acclaim at the 1900 Exposition Universelle. The chairs were inspired by the umbellifer family. The species in this family, i...
Cane, Walnut
Extremely Rare Chair from the Grabenkaffehaus, Vienna 1, Graben, Original
By Josef Hoffmann, Woka Lamps, Gebrüder Thonet Vienna GmbH
Located in Vienna, AT
Extremely rare chair from the Grabenkaffehaus, Vienna 1, Graben 29a - Trattnerhof Stained and polished beechwood, upholstery not original.
Beech
Calvet Bench by Antonio Gaudi, Modernist, Spanish
By Antoni Gaudí
Located in Barcelona, ES
Solid varnished oak. 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 cat...
Oak
Wiener Werkstätte Modernist Chairs in Walnut, Original Taupe Velvet Upholstery
Located in Vigonza, Padua
Early 20th century pair of Wiener Werkstätte Modernist chairs in walnut, original taupe velvet upholstery, still usable. Measures cm: H100/50, W 45, D 45.
Velvet, Walnut
Original of the Time, Rare J.&J. Thonet Stool, Late 19th Century, 1880
By Gebrüder Thonet Vienna GmbH, Woka Lamps
Located in Vienna, AT
Wonderful and rare Thonet stool, published already in the 1888 Thonet Catalogue on page 23 as Salon-Stockerl Nr 5 zum Polstern Material Beechwood black stained with gold colored not...
Fabric, Beech
Antoni Gaudí Calvet Chair by BD Barcelona Design, Oak, Jugendstil
By Antoni Gaudí, BD Barcelona Design
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Calvet chair designed by Antonio Gaudi manufactured in Barcelona by BD. Solid varnished oak. Measures: 52 x 54 x 94 H cm Year: 1902 Antoni Gau...
Oak
Original Chair Kolo Moser and Josef Hoffmann Attr. Jugendstil, Wiener Werkstätte
By Josef Hoffmann, Koloman Moser, Wiener Werkstätte
Located in Vienna, AT
An armchair with design-vocabulary used by Kolo Moser and Josef Hoffmann in their early works from 1901 on.
Nutwood
Thonet Art Nouveau Set of Six very Rare Chairs with Printed Pattern.
By Gebrüder Thonet Vienna GmbH
Located in Antwerp, BE
Antique very beautiful Art Nouveau set of six Thonet chairs with a printed pattern all chairs are labeled with the original THONET paper logo. Thonet...
Bentwood
Originals 1905 of the Period Pair of Josef Hoffmann and Jacob &Josef Kohn Chairs
By Woka Lamps, Josef Hoffmann, Jacob & Josef Kohn
Located in Vienna, AT
Very early and important design by Josef Hoffmann for J&J Kohn; horseshoe-shaped stand, each with two spheres under the corner joints of the seat, beechwood, light stained, polis...
Bentwood
Late 19th Century Pair of Bentwood B-9 Armchairs by Jacob and Josef Kohn
Located in Vigonza, Padua
An Austrian (Vienna) pair of bentwood B-9 armchairs by Jacob and Josef Kohn circa 1870. An original iconic chair. This is the favourite chair of architects especially from "Le Corbus...
Bentwood
Set of 6 Bistro Chairs by Jacob & Josef Kohn, 1890 Austro-Hungarian Empire
Located in Santa Gertrudis, Baleares
Exceptional and rare set of 6 Bistro chairs by Jacob & Josef Kohn from the end of the 19th century. Bentwood chairs with seats and backs carved with be...
Bentwood
Josef Hoffmann Wiener Werkstätte Armchair Restored Re-Upholstered Leather
By Wiener Werkstätte, Josef Hoffmann
Located in Vigonza, Padua
Era Art Nouveau, early 20th century museal modernist Wiener Werkstätte armchair restored re-upholstered leather by Josef Hoffmann. Solid walnut wood structure with original patina, with cast bronze...
Bronze
Antoni Gaudí Calvet Chair, Solid Oak, Jugendstil Design, Spain, New
By Antoni Gaudí, BD Barcelona Design
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Calvet chair designed by Antonio Gaudi manufactured in Barcelona by BD. Solid varnished oak. Measures: 52 x 54 x 94 H cm Year: 1902 Antoni Gaudí (1852...
Oak
Thonet Mundes Dining Chairs by David Fisher, Beech & Wicker, 1925
By David Fisher, Thonet-Mundus
Located in Den Haag, NL
Thonet Mundes dining chairs Beech wood. Wicker seat. Design David Fischer for the Gebr Thonet Vienna Austria 1880.
Wicker
Unique 'Ice Cream Parlor Chair' Rare Inventive Spring Version
Located in Sharon, CT
An early inventive (not to mention shapelier) version of the ubiquitous Ice Cream Parlor Chair. Note that the two circular loops are looped twi...
Steel
Set of Three Hand Carved Art Nouveau Chairs, circa 1900
By Victor Horta
Located in Lucenec, SK
Set of three Art Nouveau early 20th century Art Nouveau armchairs. Beautifully carved chair frame made of fruitwood with upholstered seats and back...
Upholstery, Fruitwood
Calvet Chair, by Antoni Gaudi, Solid Oak, Spanish, Modernist
By Antoni Gaudí
Located in Barcelona, ES
Gaudí designed a chair for the Casa Calvet. One that was rich in form and representative of his timeless creativity. The Calvet chair features outstanding artisanal ornamental carvi...
Oak
20th Century Art Nouveau Thonet Seating Set - 4 Chairs With Table, AT circa 1915
By Gebrüder Thonet Vienna GmbH
Located in Lichtenberg, AT
Extraordinary 20th century Art Nouveau seating set crafted by the renowed Austrian bentwood manufactory of Thonet around 1915. This artfully made Art Nouveau seating set consists of ...
Beech, Bentwood
Poltrona in Bambù Italiana 1920 verde e marrone Art Nouveau
Located in Palermo, Sicily
Poltrona molto particolare realizzata nei primi anni del 900 totalmente a mano in bambù con fili di colore verde.
Bamboo
French Art Nouveau Chairs by Louis Majorelle
Located in Bridgewater, CT
French Art Nouveau chairs by Louis Majorelle.
Wood
Jugendstil, Art Nouveau, Liberty Chair, 1900, France
Located in Ciudad Autónoma Buenos Aires, C
Chair Jugendstil, Art Nouveau, Liberty Material: Wood Country:France We have specialized in the sale of Art Deco and Art Nouveau and Vintage styles since 1982.If you have any questi...
Wood