Art Nouveau furniture

Art Nouveau furniture

Top: Desk by Henry Van de Velde (1898); Center: Water Lily bedroom set by Louis Majorelle (1902-1903); Bottom: beechwood, cane and aluminium armchair by Otto Wagner (1905–1906)
Years active	c. 1893–1910
Location	Europe and United States

Furniture created in the Art Nouveau style was prominent from the beginning of the 1890s to the beginning of the First World War in 1914. It characteristically used forms based on nature, such as vines, flowers and water lilies, and featured curving and undulating lines, sometimes known as the whiplash line, both in the form and the decoration. Other common characteristics were asymmetry and polychromy, achieved by inlaying different colored woods.

The style was named for Siegfried Bing's Maison de l'Art Nouveau gallery and shop in Paris, which opened in 1895.^[1] It was usually made by hand, with a fine polished finish, rare and expensive woods, and fine craftsmanship.^[2] Luxury veneers were used in the furniture of leading cabinetmakers, including Georges de Feure and others.^[3]

In the early years of the style, Art Nouveau architects often designed the furniture to match the style of their houses. These architects included Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Antoni Gaudí, Victor Horta, Hector Guimard and Henry Van de Velde. After 1900, particularly in the furniture designed for the Vienna Secession and the German Jugendstil, the forms became simpler, more functional and more geometric, and some could be produced on assembly lines.^[4]