Art Nouveau Around the World - Discussion

This is where we chat, not on the contest thread

Hey there,

There were quite a few hesitant folks at the starting line... but only one dared to take the leap? Just one who still set the bar *super* high. (You couldn’t find anything better on Cli.gno.tan? 😛)

Hey everyone,

Great idea to revive this contest! To join in, I dug out my photos of Antwerp with high hopes—it’s *amazing* for Art Nouveau—but honestly, between the dull Belgian light and my terrible framing, they can only compete for the "ugliest photo" award.





I’ll see if I can put something together for Milan, which has some gorgeous Liberty-style buildings (that’s Art Nouveau in Italian), before the 25th!

Catherine

https://voyageforum.com/images/posts/small/1730546922-lKRlZpQtOpHYwub.jpg

Great idea to bring back the photo contest! 👍 On the other hand, the first topic is a bit too niche for me—I’ll just be an observer 😅

Hey everyone,

With no authority whatsoever, I’m taking the liberty of reviving the photo contests on VoyageForum—it’s active and alive again! 😉

You’re totally right 😉 Plus, your topic is great, and I’ll go look for the first photo right away...

Does Art Deco work too?

Honestly, between the dull Belgian light and the really awkward framing, they can only compete for the title of ugliest photo.

It’s a shame because your buildings are gorgeous (I’m a huge Art Nouveau fan ;)) Your photos aren’t ugly, and it’s not your framing that’s off—it’s your converging verticals, and there’s nothing you can do about it; we all have that problem. One way to fix it is to position yourself at half the height of the building! Anyone showing perfectly straight verticals with this kind of subject will have corrected them in post-processing.

Hi Kate,

One way to solve it would be to get to half the height of the building!

As if I could bring myself to walk around with a tripod, let alone a cherry picker!

If you love Art Nouveau, Antwerp is made for you:





Catherine

If you love Art Nouveau, Antwerp is made for you:

I don’t know it yet, but I get the feeling it’s a really beautiful city 😉 I’ve already had a taste with Brussels. When I’m old (well, *very* old ) I’ll stay in Europe to discover everything I haven’t seen yet.

Good evening

Thanks for your quick response!

A special shout-out to UnaMilanese for her take on the stunning city of Milan and its fabulous Art Nouveau heritage (among other things).

Milan: the former Hôtel del Corso (Piazza del Liberty), but it’s quite a story 😮

And also her nod to Antwerp!

Thanks to Kate for kicking things off.

But:

Does Art Deco work too?

No, no, no! Let’s not mix apples and oranges—let’s keep this theme for next year, 1925–2025, to commemorate the centenary of the *Exposition internationale des arts décoratifs et industriels modernes* in Paris from April to October 1925.

Keep up the great work!

Does Art Deco work too?

No no no, let's not mix apples and oranges

Ugh... 😕 But they do follow each other, they blend... So you won't get the Villa Empain! 😛 Hope you'll have other suggestions because this theme is tough!

Good evening

I hope you’ll get other suggestions because this is a tough theme!

Yes. Even though it’s a very common style, at least in Europe, you’ve got to be really passionate about it to spontaneously come back with great photos on the subject.

About Art Nouveau in Milan (in narrow streets, with cursed contrasts, tons of electrical wires in the foreground, or cars), I learned a fun anecdote from this thread: the city’s first cinema was built between 1908 and 1910, and its owner named it *Cinema Dumont*. Why Dumont? Because he wanted it to "sound French." Some websites even call it *Cinema Dupont*.

Catherine

Hope you’ll have other suggestions because this is a tough theme!

Told ya so! I’m way better at apéros, me! 😅

From what I gather in your contest preamble, what sets the two (Deco and Nouveau) apart is the timing? I’d love it if someone could enlighten me (in a few words, please 😊)

Good evening

what sets the two apart ... is the timing

that’s totally reductive

I’d love some clarification (in a few words, please...😄)

in a few words, please

impossible, the topic is way too broad

Art Nouveau - Wikipedia

Happy reading 😉

City Hall of Cartagena (Murcia, Spain)

Hey folks, 🙂

Not much to suggest for this tricky topic.

Lima, Peru – the stained-glass ceiling of the old train station.

Ljubljana

Hi there,

I’ve never entered a photo contest on VF before. The topic is interesting but quite niche, as there can be some confusion. It’s sometimes tricky to tell Art Nouveau and Art Deco apart, since overlaps aren’t uncommon. That seems to be the case with the example of Cartagena’s city hall you mentioned—it strikes me as more of an eclectic (or historicist) style from the very early 20th century. Plus, the four pillars in the entrance hall look more Art Deco-inspired to me.

That said, you’re right to point out that the two styles have nothing in common. It’s a bit like confusing the classicism of Versailles or Saint-Sulpice with the baroque of Rome’s Church of Saint Ignatius of Loyola. Art Nouveau is a world of flowing lines, abundant plant motifs—especially floral—arabesques, and pastel tones.

See here: Art Nouveau in Riga (Latvia)

Art Deco, on the other hand, is defined by geometric rigor, straight and clean lines, and a return to symmetry, which is absent in Art Nouveau. Both styles can feature human figures, but they’re more stylized in Art Deco.

See here: Art Deco in Napier (New Zealand)

Art Nouveau buildings and works of art aren’t hard to find—and not just in Europe. Sometimes, all you have to do is look up... but do you always have a camera on hand?

These masterpieces can be right in your own backyard:

Here in Troyes (1908)



Or in a museum, like this stained-glass window in Limoges by master glassmaker Francis Chigot, *The Bathers* (pre-1920). (But is this really a photo? It’s more of a reproduction, a photographic document.)



Time to dig into your photo archives! 😉

Hi there,

Well, I just realized I missed a ton of masterpieces in Antwerp last year! 😉 But we didn’t stay long enough, I guess...

I’m taking note about the Liberty-style buildings in Milan. We’re waiting for the TGV line to reopen. The trip was canceled last year after the landslide on the Maurienne track, and I really don’t feel like going to Milan by plane—or even by car, for that matter.

As for framing and those pesky converging lines, you can fix them with photo-editing software, as long as you’re okay with a bit of distortion.

Here at the Meir in Antwerp:

Before editing:



After:

Hello

I thought the staircase of the Petit Palais fit the topic. ".....it is one of the finest examples of the eclectic style of the late 19th century."

If it’s eclectic from the late 19th century, does that mean it’s also partly Art Nouveau?

Hi there,

That’s the tricky part of the topic.

If it’s eclectic in style—meaning it draws from multiple art-history movements (Renaissance, Baroque, etc.)—it can’t be Art Nouveau, which was a cohesive artistic movement.

The architecture of the Petit Palais relies on symmetry and classical antique elements, which are foreign to Art Nouveau. That’s actually what made this movement so "new" at the time.

Catherine’s photos (the other one 😉) fit the topic perfectly.

Happy researching! 🙂