Art Nouveau

At the turn of the nineteenth century, Art Nouveau was both Europe and America's boldest and most fashionable style. It could be seen in the sinuous ironwork of the new Paris Metro stations, the curving asymmetry of Lalique's jewellery and Tiffany's Japanese-inspired glassware. Art Nouveau brought a new decorative language to furniture, jewellery and graphic arts, as well as architecture, sculpture and painting.

Known by a variety of names - Jugendstil in Germany, Secession style in Austria, the Modernista movement in Catalonia - it was a truly international new art for an explosive new age. This is the first book to examine Art Nouveau worldwide in the context of the issues of the time: from fin-de-siècle anxieties about the pressures of modern life to nationalism, spiritualism, the emancipation of women and the heroic cult of youth.

Educated at Cambridge University, Stephen Escritt is a specialist in nineteenth- and twentieth-century decorative arts. He is co-author of Art Deco Style, also pubilshed by Phaidon

'A lucid and concise overview, well organized and well written.' (Times Literary Supplement)

'Art & Ideas has broken new ground in making accessible authoritative views on periods, movements and concepts in art. As a series it represents a real advance in publishing.' (Sir Nicholas Serota, Director, Tate London)

'The format is wonderful and offers what had long been missing in academic studies: usable manuals for specific themes or periods...I am definitely not alone in welcoming Art & Ideas as a precious set of teaching tools.' (Joachim Pissarro, Yale University)