Americanising Art Nouveau

Continuing the discussion on Art Nouveau, while we know the background and design characteristics from the Art Nouveau Movement, it is important to learn how Art Nouveau came to be in the United States and how American architects put a more "American Style" into the Art Nouveau Era. 


FOUNDING FATHERS

There are two founding fathers who brought Art Nouveau to the United States from European countries. The two designers go by the name of Louis Comfort Tiffany and Louis H. Sullivan. 


Louis Comfort Tiffany

Looking at Louis Tiffanys impact on the Art Nouveau Movement first; Tiffany went to the exhibition of Paris where he saw Samuels Bing works on Art Nouveau and used Bings designs to influence him in bringing Art Nouveau to the states. Before entering the Art Nouveau Era, Tiffany came from a family of jewelers, merchants, and designers which caused him to be influenced in the design industry.  

Pictured above is a portrait of Louis Comfort Tiffany

When beginning design, Louis Tiffany was heavy "influenced by Aesthetic Movements;" while Tiffany was more of an expressionist in artistic paint and decorative arts, he used his artistic abilities to develop concepts of Art Nouveau into his work. For example, Tiffany had a big impact on popularizing stain glass windows. In 1885, Tiffany influenced architecture firms and designs to design more stain glass art whether that be windows in buildings or decorations such as lamps. 

Pictured to the left is a stain glass lamp that Tiffany design

Pictured below is a stain glass window that Tiffany designed for a Church

With that being said, this idea played a huge impact in American churches due to having stain glass windows in them. Christians, especially Catholics, believe that having stain glass windows in a Church is to "help bridge the gap between the earthy and the divine."
Additionally, the stain glass windows had art that showcased events that occurred in religious history such as the crucification and the resurrection of Jesus.  The image to the right is an example of a stain glass window which refers to an important event that happened in the bible which was Jesus and his twelve disciples. This piece of art could demonstrate the event of the last supper which included Jesus and his twelve gathered around a long table to feast one last time. Although it is common for stain glass windows in Churches to display events in history, some windows in Churches showcase Jesus and His love he had for His people. 

Image below is Tiffany's work in Chicago

Louis Tiffany still wanted to include design ideas from what he witnessed from Bling in Paris. By doing so, Tiffany made large energetic art that was placed in big buildings. In the picture to the left it showcases Tiffany's art work in what seems to be an elegant buildings. This image impressed characteristics from the European Art Nouveau because of the modernism look with color choice such as gold as well a simplistic look to the space, having the art being the focal point. 

While Tiffany is most famous for his art work, he also did interior design and built furniture within spaces using the advancement in technology. Pictured to the right is an image of a modern day application using inspiration from Tiffany and his work. To begin, there is a stain glass lamp placed in the center on the table. Secondly, the color choice of an energetic blue throughout the room also occurred in many of Tiffanys interior work. The furniture in the space also dedicates to the art work that occurred during the time period, especially the work Tiffany made. 

The most compelling information about Tiffany's work was that he eventually sold pieces to Samuel Bing, the same person who started the Art Nouveau movement. This fact shows how powerful Tiffany's work was in the Art Nouveau Era. 


Pictured above is a modern day application of Louis Tiffanys work


Louis H. Sullivan

Pictured below is Louis H. Sullivan

Louis Sullivan studied in Paris but came back to Chicago after the great fire that occurred in 1897 in Paris. From there, Sullivan had the idea of americanizing Art Nouveau. His idea was "to create an American, if not Midwestern, strain of architecture and, in the process, to derive an entirely new system of ornamental decoration" unlike what was being design in European with floral and unclassical. 

While Louis Tiffany was most famous for his work in stain glass windows, Louis Sullivan was known for "creating series of early skyscrapers in 1890." Sullivan used technology creating a building on a small piece of land while also accounting for a huge interior. To do this, Sullivan knew he had to make buildings go vertical instead of horizontal. From there, he used land in Chicago to make tall vertical building to create a big space for companies. Not only did the skyscrapers bring a new idea to verticalize buildings, but it allowed companies to pay a cheaper amount of land for their headquarters since they are not buying a big piece of land.  
Modern Skyscrapers in Chicago, IL
Below is the Carson, Pirie, Scott, and Company building

An early work of architecture skyscrapers would also be another successful piece of work that Louis Sullivan made which was the Carson, Pirie, Scott, and Company building located in Chicago, Illinois. This commercial building was one of the first works that Sullivan used the idea of verticalizing a building. The building then was the start of modernizing buildings with glass windows throughout with the influence of Art Nouveau technology. 


Below is the Sullivan Center




Now, the building is a Target Store and is named the "Sullivan Center" after Louis Sullivan. While many people go to the building weekly to get groceries, the building is still very historical with holding its value in modernizing and changing the ways buildings were oriented. 



ONE STEP FURTHER

While the focus on this blog was mainly how the founding fathers brought Art Nouveau to the United States, it is important to look at who Louis Tiffany and Louis Sullivan inspired for the next generation to carry on Art Nouveau in the states. 

Pictured below is an image of Frank Lloyd Wright

Frank Lloyd Wright was mentored by Louis Sullivan. Sullivan hired Wright in 1887 to be a draftsman in constructing drawings for the Auditorium Building. With Wright working side by side to Sullivan, it taught Wright how to analyze nature into architecture. Sullivan and Wright are two architects who had a big impact on Chicago architecture. 

After six years of working for Louis Sullivan, Wright ended up breaking loyalty between the two by taking personal work in secret. Although Wright got fired by Sullivan, Wright still used his knowledge from working with Sullivan and created famous building that have characteristics such as big windows used in homes to create the relationship of nature between the interior and exterior, creating tall horizontal buildings, and including Art Decor in his work. 

The image to the right is one of Wrights famous work in using his Prairie Style which includes connecting nature to the architecture of the home and using organic shapes with a modern style. 





Pictured above is a home built by Frank Lloyd Wright

EXTRA SOURCES

Louis Tiffanys work on Stain Glass Windows-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-98Z9er_-Y

Louis Sullivans Architecture Work and How He Came to Be a Famous Architect

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66aIahkIEt8

Louis Sullivans Work in Chicago- 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TI4oGSd3vDQ

Comments

  1. Eva SerratoFebruary 10, 2023 at 7:55 PM

    Izzy,
    I love the amount of detail you went into when describing the different designers and the journey they have lived. You made sure to go into depth about the different types of art and design Tiffany was into while giving us a good understanding on how the types of design got them into the style Art Nouveau. When talking about Sullivan you did a great job on going over many of his projects and buildings in Chicago and how they were monumental to Art Nouveau and his career. Over all you did and excellent job explaining the different designers and how they impacted the Art Nouveau movement.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Professor VanderNoordaaFebruary 11, 2023 at 9:30 AM

    Izabella,
    Excellent description of the Art Nouveau movement in the United States. Your historical back ground to both Louis Comfort Tiffany and Louis Sullivan was very detailed and interesting. It is amazing how things came full circle with Samuel Bing purchasing art from Louis Tiffany. I thought your example of a modern day interior based on Tiffany's work was spot on. the vibrant blue and use of stained glass was beautiful.
    I also, appreciate how you covered the historical period in which Sullivan established his work. Mentioning the Chicago fire and how Sullivan changed the course of history with his use of vertical buildings to rebuild for perfect.
    Diving deep into the work of FLW was a great ending to this Blog entry. Thank you for your extra sources.
    Total Points: 50/50.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Kahlan DyonFebruary 11, 2023 at 5:37 PM

    Izzy,
    I really loved the amount of photos that you used to describe every aspect of what you were talking about. I think what really helped was the break down of each designer and how they came to the conclusion of what they design now. I also talked about these two designers as they were a big influence on the Art nouveau era. I think what was really interesting is that both of them were designers in Chicago. Now when I go to visit Chicago I will get to understand the detail that went into each building. Which I also think in your blog really helped me get a better understanding of what some of them entail. You did a great job overall on your blog diving deeper into each designer!

    ReplyDelete

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