Inktober Day 20: Cat in the Window

In praise of Art Nouveau

Finally! An easy one!

For Cat in the Window, I turned to Art Nouveau stained glass windows. I talk at length about this this in my Art Deco vs. Art Nouveau video essay, but here’s a quick rundown of why I love art nouveau.

Art Nouveau was a relatively short design era, spanning 1890- 1914. This period was retroactively named the “belle epoch” or “beautiful era” because it covered the years of peace between massive European wars. Art Nouveau means “new art”. Art Nouveau leaned into nature and invention, looking forward at new perspectives, not backwards at history, nobility or mythology. In the 1960’s, psychedelic poster artists used art nouveau to evoke acid trips. I think the hippies loved art nouveau for the same reasons as war- torn French: art nouveau represents attempts to find beauty in an incomprehensible world. Art Nouveau evokes fantasy, nature and escape. Today, elfcore and fantasy art use many art nouveau elements.

Art Nouveau and the formation the Societé des artistes décorateurs (Society of Decorative Artists, or SAD) also officially designated designed objects, like lamps, textiles and jewelry, as “art”. Art Nouveau dovetailed into Art Deco, and some of the most prominent examples of art deco aren’t paintings or sculptures; they’re buildings and furniture. Expanding the definition of art allows us to make art part of our lives. We can even sit on it.

Art Nouveau furniture is extraordinarily hard to make and find, but when pen hits paper, the opportunities are limitless. I went with a simple little stained glass window for this color blocked kitty cat.

If you want to learn more about art nouveau and art deco, check out my video!