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.
19th Century Antique Gilt Wood Oval Frame, European Design, 8x6.5"
Located in Worcester Park, GB
This antique oval frame is a beautifully understated showcase of classic European design. Crafted in richly toned gilt wood, it features a warm, aged patina that highlights its subtl...
Giltwood
Rare Majolica Butterfly Wall Pocket Clement Massier, circa 1900
Located in Austin, TX
Rare Majolica butterfly wall pocket signed Clement Massier, Golfe Juan Circa 1900. H / 7 inches. W / 9 inches.
Ceramic, Faience
French Majolica Pink Daisy Plate Orchies, circa 1890
By Orchies
Located in Austin, TX
French Majolica pink daisy plate Orchies, circa 1890.
Ceramic
Set Of Six Secession Brass Curtain Holder Wiena 1890s
Located in Čelinac, BA
Set of Six Secession Brass Curtain Holder Wiena 1890s
Brass
Josef Hoffmann Coat Hook for the Wiener Werkstaette, Re-Edition
By Wiener Werkstätte, Josef Hoffmann, Woka Lamps
Located in Vienna, AT
Sensational design from the very puristic period of Josef Hoffmann and the Wiener Werkstaette. Literature: Waltraud Neuwirth, Wiener Werkstaette - Avantgarde Art Deco, Industrial Des...
Brass
Set Of Two Secession Brass Curtain Holder 1890s
Located in Čelinac, BA
Set of Two Secession Brass Curtain Holder Austria 1890s
Brass
Art Nouveau Flower Tiles designed by Carreaux Faience de Florennes, Belgium
By Faience Manufacturing Company
Located in Antwerp, BE
Beautiful set of 30 tiles designed in the Art nouveau period by Carreaux Faience de Florennes, 1900, very rare relief art nouveau flower tiles in the colors yellow, brown, blue and ...
Ceramic, Clay
$5,380Sale Price|20% Off
Antique Flemish Tapestry 91cm×122cm Musical 3x4 Decorative Panel Tapestry c.1650
Located in New York, NY
This exquisite 17th-century Flemish tapestry depicts a seated musical figure surrounded by scrolling foliage, floral motifs, and a richly detailed border. The wool and silk weave sti...
Wool, Silk
French Majolica White Daisy Plate Orchies, circa 1890
By Orchies
Located in Austin, TX
French Majolica white daisy plate Orchies, circa 1890.
Ceramic
Pair of Art Nouveau Cast Iron, Gilded Shelf Brackets
Located in Toronto, CA
This is an exquisite pair of large Art Nouveau, cast iron, gilded shelf brackets from the early part of the twentieth century, most probably French, 1910 to 1919. These fabulous she...
Iron
Antique Chromolithograph Pair, Ceramics Through the Ages, 1898
Located in Langweer, NL
Antique Chromolithograph Pair, Ceramics Through the Ages, Meyers 1898 This attractive pair of original chromolithographs illustrates the history and artistic development of ceramics...
Paper
$417Sale Price|20% Off
Art Nouveau Poster "La Fille aux Fleurs de Printemps", Framed, Limited Edition
Located in Darmstadt, DE
This limited-edition Art Nouveau poster, titled “La Fille aux Fleurs de Printemps”, is a modern homage to the elegance and floral romanticism of the fin-de-siècle period. Inspired b...
Pine, Paper
Jules Cheret 1891 Art Nouveau Poster Le Courrier Français
By Jules Chéret
Located in Dallas, TX
Jules Chéret Le Courrier Français, 1891 Lithograph in colors on wove paper laid on linen Dimensions: 48 x 33.5 inches (121.9 x 85.1 cm) Signed in the stone lower left: Chéret Pub...
Paper
$1,740Sale Price|40% Off
Josef Hoffmann Wiener Werkstätte Vienna Art Nouveau Enamel Advertising Sign
Located in Vienna, AT
A rare, domed, black, white & blue enameled Art Nouveau advertising plate. Designed by Josef Hoffmann in 1905 for Wiener Werkstatte (founded by Josef Hoffmann, Koloman Moser and Frit...
Metal, Enamel, Iron
Majolica Rose Wall Pocket Delphin Massier, circa 1880
Located in Austin, TX
Majolica Pink Rose Wall Pocket signed Delphin Massier, circa 1890. Height / 6.5 inches.
Ceramic
Majolica Cyclamens Plate Schultz Cilli, circa 1900
By Schütz Cilli
Located in Austin, TX
Majolica cyclamens plate signed Schultz Cilli, circa 1900, Art Nouveau. Diameter / 7.5 inches.
Ceramic
Alphonse Mucha Lithograph Art Nouveau #1 Cocorico French Magazine Cover
Located in Cincinnati, OH
A vintage lithograph of a glamorous woman of the Art Nouveau era from the cover of the first edition of " Cocorico" a high art French magazine published in 1898 for their Dec. 31st i...
Paper
Green Sarreguemines Platter with Large Majolica Flowers, circa 1900
Located in Austin, TX
Large Majolica flowers (rose,mum) platter signed Sarreguemines, circa 1900.
Ceramic
Majolica Blue Butterfly Plate Josef Steidl Znaim, circa 1890
Located in Austin, TX
Majolica butterfly plate Josef Steidl Znaim, circa 1890.
Ceramic
French Majolica Roses Plate Saint Amand, circa 1890
By Saint Amand
Located in Austin, TX
Majolica roses plate signed Saint Amand, circa 1890.
Ceramic, Majolica
Josef Hoffmann Jugendstil Wiener Werkstaette Art Nouveau Coat Hook, Re-Edition
By Woka Lamps, Wiener Werkstätte, Josef Hoffmann
Located in Vienna, AT
Very elegant handmade coat-hook. Literature: Waltraud Neuwirth, Wiener Werkstaette – Avant Garde Art Deco, Industrial Design, 1985 Vienna p. 49. Different hooks are available see pic...
Brass
Antique Paintings Featuring Lake Landscapes, Oil on Canvas, Early 20th Century
Located in Breganze, VI
The "Antique Landscape Paintings" category features an early 20th-century oil painting on canvas depicting a lakeside landscape steeped in a poetic and tranquil atmosphere. The com...
Canvas
Vintage Carved Hardwood Sterling Silver Overlaid Cane Walking Stick
Located in Shippensburg, PA
CARVED HARDWOOD CANE WITH STERLING SILVER OVERLAID HANDLE In the Art Nouveau taste, circa 20th century 34 1/2" H x 4 1/8" W (handle) A finely carved hardwood cane, the tapering sha...
Sterling Silver
Antique Painting "Skiers in Garmisch, Alpspitze, Adalbert Wex" - Early 20th Century
Located in Vo', Veneto
Skiers in Garmisch, Alpspitze - Adalbert von Wex Period: Early 1900s Provenance: Munich, Bavaria Artist: Adalbert von Wex Technique: Oil on canvas Painting size: 64 cm x 100 cm (25....
Canvas
Pair of brown Lacquer on Wood Panels Art Nouveau Floral Japanese Style .
Located in Miami, FL
Two Lacquer panels on wood Japanese inspiration soft colors , floral theme. Style Art Nouveau// Art Deco. French origine. Could fit perfectly above a pair of Art Deco or art Nouveau ...
Wood
Original Antique Travel Poster Monaco Monte Carlo Alphonse Mucha Art Nouveau
Located in London, GB
Original antique travel poster for Monaco Monte Carlo by the notable Czech illustrator, graphic artist and painter Alphonse Mucha (Alfons Maria Mucha; 186...
Paper
Spectacular antique wall decoration fish gargoyle, patinated copper, 1900 France
Located in Wien, AT
Stunning huge wall decoration - a fish in the reeds, made of pure copper that has been patinated - an original from the Art Nouveau period, made around 1900 in France. There are many...
Copper
Majolica Dragonfly Wall Pocket Fives Lille, circa 1900
By Fives-Lille
Located in Austin, TX
Majolica dragonfly wall pocket by Fives Lille, circa 1900.
Ceramic
$4,211 / set
Pair Art Nouveau Bronze Relief Wall Plaques
Located in Kastrup, DK
Pair of fine Art Nouveau / Jugendstyl gilt bronze relief wall plaques, with wonderful details, mounted in walnut frames. The reliefs depict Diana, ...
Bronze
Original Vintage Print by Harry Clarke. C.1920
Located in St Annes, Lancashire
Wonderful image by Harry Clarke Lithograph. Published C.1920 Unframed Free shipping
Paper
$156Sale Price|20% Off
Flowers in Vase Still Life Painting Amateur Signed 27cm
Located in Poperinge, BE
Vintage flower still life, amateur painting of yellow and red flowers in a vase, signed lower right, estimated late 20th century, Belgium. Charming and colorful painting, painted by...
Canvas
Mucha, Original Art Nouveau Poster, Biere de la Meuse, Pavot, Orge Houblon, 1897
Located in SAINT-OUEN-SUR-SEINE, FR
Rare Art Nouveau poster created by Alphonse Mucha in 1897 to promote Bières de le Meuse. Artist: Alphonse Mucha (1860-1939) Title: Bières de la Meuse Date: 1897 Size (w x h): 39 x 5...
Paper
Original Antique Advertising Poster Peugeot Bicycles Valentigney Doubs Thor
Located in London, GB
Original antique advertising poster for Peugeot bicycles featuring an Art Nouveau style image by the German illustrator and poster artist Walter Thor (1870-1929) of an elegantly dres...
Paper
Majolica Gray Butterfly Plate Josef Steidl Znaim, circa 1890
Located in Austin, TX
Majolica butterfly plate Josef Steidl Znaim, circa 1890.
Ceramic
Alphonse Mucha Pair of "Byzantine Heads" Lithographs
Located in New York, NY
A pair of French "Byzantine Heads" lithographs by Alphonse Mucha. The mastery evident in creating two archetypes of the female form against a decorative background confirms Mucha's a...
Paper
19th Century Majolica Flowers & Butterfly Plate Wasmuel
Located in Austin, TX
19th Century Majolica flowers and butterfly plate Wasmuel.
Ceramic
French Majolica Pansy Plate Jerome Massier, Circa 1890
Located in Austin, TX
Majolica Pansy plate Jerome Massier Circa 1890.
Ceramic, Faience
French Majolica Parrots & Bamboo Plate Salins, circa 1890
By Salins
Located in Austin, TX
French Majolica Parrots & Bamboo Plate Salins, circa 1890.
Ceramic, Faience
1920 Vintage Art Nouveau Figurative Tapestry 203x292cm European Tapestry 7x10
Located in New York, NY
This vibrant European Art Nouveau tapestry, circa 1920, depicts a festive celebration scene with dancers in richly colored period garments. The composition features expressive figur...
Wool
An ART-NOUVEAU "Années Folles" POSTER, France 1900
Located in PARIS, FR
An elegant poster for a grocery store in Lisieux, featuring a woman's portrait and various information on free-form paper cutouts, to be attributed, France 1900. The entire piece is ...
Paper, Glass, Wood
Vibrant Art Nouveau Ceramic Tile with Daffodils and Pussy Willow – Raised Relief
Located in Bochum, NRW
Vibrant Art Nouveau Ceramic Tile with Daffodils and Pussy Willow – Raised Relief A striking decorative ceramic tile featuring a stylized floral motif in raised relief, likely dating ...
Ceramic
Hans Peter Carlsen (1855–1950) – Winter Forest Drawing, 1919
Located in Ebberup, DK
A compelling monochrome drawing by the Danish artist Hans Peter Carlsen (1855–1950), signed and dated 1919. The composition depicts a tranquil winter forest, where slender trees rise...
Paper
Austrian Art Nouveau Relief Porcelain Wall Charger, c. 1905
Located in New Orleans, LA
A stunning antique Art Nouveau (Jugendstil) polychrome porcelain bas-relief wall charger created by the Ernst Wahliss manufactory in Vienna, Austria, in 1905, featuring a classical f...
Porcelain
Pair of Art Nouveau Wooden Hand-Painted Floral Shelves, Germany, 1910
Located in Barntrup, DE
Pair of Art Nouveau wooden hand-painted floral shelves, Germany, 1910. A beautiful pair of antique Art Nouveau period wooden shelves/consoles with hand-painted floral decors. These ...
Wood, Paint
French Majolica Pansy Plate Jerome Massier, Circa 1890
Located in Austin, TX
Majolica Pansy plate Jerome Massier Circa 1900.
Ceramic, Faience
Majolica Platter with Fruits Sarreguemines, circa 1930
Located in Austin, TX
Large Majolica Platter with Fruits Sarreguemines, circa 1930.
Ceramic
Original Antique Poster Times Of The Day Eclat Du Jour Brightness Of Day Mucha
Located in London, GB
Original antique poster - Eclat Du Jour / Brightness of Day - by the notable Czech illustrator, graphic artist and painter Alphonse Mucha (Alfons Maria Mucha; 1860-1939) from his ser...
Paper
Rare Pair of Majolica Dragonfly Wall Pocket Fives Lille, circa 1900
By Fives-Lille
Located in Austin, TX
Majolica dragonfly wall pocket by Fives Lille, circa 1900.
Ceramic
Art Nouveau Alphonse Mucha Original JOB Poster, 1898
Located in North Bergen, NJ
Alphonse Mucha 1898 JOB poster. Excellent condition with beautiful frame under plexiglass ready to hang. Poster for 'Job' cigarette paper (1898) 'JOB' is a ...
Paper
VINTAGE Scandinavian Tapestry Flatwoven European Kilim 145x191cm Signed 5x6 Rug
Located in New York, NY
Vintage European Kilim Flatwoven Rug Flatwoven Kelim Rug Handmade Tapestry "This is a beautiful European kilim Rug. This magnificent flatwoven rug and t...
Wool
French Majolica Daisy Plate Orchies, circa 1890
By Orchies
Located in Austin, TX
French Majolica daisy plate Orchies unsigned, circa 1890.
Ceramic
Early 20th Century German Child Portrait, Oil on Board, Carved Jugendstil Frame
Located in COLMAR, FR
A unique German child's portrait in oil, early twentieth century — a fair-haired figure stands square to the viewer in a summer meadow, daisies and dandelions at the hem, a low line ...
Wood
Oil by Vidal Jimenez, Spain, 1960 Pop Art
Located in Miami, FL
Oil by Vidal Jimenez, Spain, 1960. Pop art.
Alphonse Mucha "Les Saisons (The Seasons)" Lithographs
Located in New York, NY
The Seasons (Les Saisons) by Alphonse Mucha is among the most celebrated expressions of Art Nouveau printmaking: a suite of four poetic lithographs—Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter—each allegory embodied by an idealized female figure adorned with the flora and fauna of their eponymous season. Spring (Les Printemps) Spring emerges as an ethereal, blonde sylph—an air elemental—standing before a haze of apple blossoms. She is framed by a delicate wreath of blooming dogwood, a motif Mucha studied from life. She fashions a lyre-like instrument from a fresh green branch, her own flowing hair forming its strings, evoking the poetic ideal of the Aeolian harp—an instrument played not by human hands but by the wind itself. This association aligns her with Romantic notions of nature as an animating force, written by contemporaneous poets such as Samuel Taylor Coleridge. At her feet, songbirds—including the ortolan bunting, long associated in French culture with innocence, and the exotic red-billed leiothrix, prized for its melodious song—gather to animate the composition with sound. The floral border of her garment, composed of narcissi, asters, dianthus, and cuckoo flowers, reinforces the sense of the abundance that defines the season. Summer (L’Été) Summer is rendered in languid repose, seated beside a reflective pool, her body slackened by the heat. Crowned with vivid red poppies—flowers of both sleep and sensuality—she dips her feet into cool water, seeking relief from the oppressive warmth. Ivy curls around her form, her translucent white drapery appears to slip from her shoulders, heightening the sense of languor. Unlike the airiness of Spring, Summer is grounded in the body, evoking the sensuous, almost narcotic stillness of a long, sun-drenched afternoon. Autumn (L’Automne) Autumn is richly adorned, her deep auburn hair echoing the tones of fallen leaves that surround her. She turns her gaze not outward, but toward the ripe grapes she holds—a symbol of harvest and abundance. A crown of chrysanthemums, rendered in white and blue, rests upon her head, a flower closely associated with Mucha himself, who was known—according to his son Jiří Mucha—to wear one in his buttonhole. Her costume is elaborately detailed with filigree disk brooches inspired by the stage jewelry of Sarah Bernhardt, particularly in her role as Theodora. These jewelry designs by Mucha drew on historical sources ranging from Byzantine mosaics studied in Ravenna to the earlier Merovingian traditions of Frankish and Lombardic women, who wore paired brooches...
Gesso
French Majolica White Daisy Plate Orchies, circa 1890
By Orchies
Located in Austin, TX
French Majolica white daisy plate Orchies, circa 1890.
Ceramic
Art Nouveau Glass & Historic Glassmaking, Pair of Meyers Chromolithographs, 1898
Located in Langweer, NL
Art Nouveau Glass & Historic Glassmaking, Pair of Meyers Chromolithographs This attractive pair of original chromolithographs was published by Meyers Konversations-Lexikon in Leipzig in 1898 and illustrates the remarkable history and artistic development of glassmaking from antiquity through the Art Nouveau period. The first plate, titled "Glaskunstindustrie I," presents an international survey of historic glass objects. Featured examples include Phoenician-Assyrian glass, Roman vessels, Venetian millefiori glass, Venetian network glass, Egyptian mosque lamps, Persian bowls, German enamelled glass...
Paper
Finnish Art Nouveau Wall Cabinet in Quartersawn Oak & Brass, Early 20th Century
Located in Helsinki, FI
A small Finnish Art Nouveau side / wall cabinet in gorgeous quartersawn oak wood and brass details. The cabinet has legs so it can be placed on the...
Brass
Majolica Flowers & Butterfly Plate Wasmuel Circa 1890
Located in Austin, TX
Majolica flowers and butterfly plate Wasmuel circa 1890.
Ceramic
Antique Royal Vienna MZ Austria Constance Portrait Shadow Box Plate
Located in Dayton, OH
Antique Austrian Royal Vienna hand-painted porcelain portrait plate framed in a gilt shadowbox curio display frame. Features a central portrait of a woman named Constance, surrounded...
Porcelain, Glass, Hardwood
19th Century French Faience Duck Jardiniere Saint Clement
Located in Austin, TX
19th Century French Faience Duck Jardiniere Saint Clement ( Lorraine ) Model created for the universal exhibition of 1878.
Ceramic, Majolica, Faience