Straddling the decades of the 20th centu-
ry, a new art style was finding its roots in the
streets of Paris. In the gallery of Samuel Bing,
named the Salon de l’Art Nouveau, illustra-
tors and deisgners alike were starting to move
away from the clutter and fluff of the Victori-
an and transiting into a new style. This style
would affect not only illustration and design,
but also architecture, interior design, fine
art, and the decorative arts such as
jewelery, glass and textile design.This made it a truly “total” style of art. Art-
ists of this period wanted to bring art into
every aspect of life. It was an international
movement, mostly because of the increase in
the efficiency of travel. But, at the same time,
different locales had their own penchants.
Curved lines referenced lines found in nature,
and artists repurposed some popular motifs
found in Rococo art such as the flame and the
shell.One of the biggest influences on artists in
the late 19th century was the art coming out
of Japan. Because of increased trade with the
Orient, the unique stlye of Japanese art which
developed during the Tokugawa period (1603-
1867) revived graphic design in Europe and
America. Europeans were crazy for anything
and everything Japanese, and the craze became
known as Japonisme.Japan had closed it ports to everyone but a few approved Dutch and Chinese traders during the Tokugawa shogunate, allowing Japan do develop its own domestic style. The ukiyo-e style, or literally translated as “pictures of the
floating world,” blended traditional naratives depicted on scrolls with a growing interest in urban life. Initially, many pieces portrayed
scenes from the entertainment district in Edo,
modren Tokyo. Subjects ranged from Kabuki
actors to sumo wrestlers to courtesans and
other beautiful women. And these individu-
als were often referred to by name. As time progressed, other scenes depicting historical
events, flora and fauna and landscapes became
popular as well. Many of the prints of the time were made
on woodblocks, which also made reproduction
of the prints very easy.Several masters made huge strides in the
field of woodblock printing. Hishikawa
Moronobu is considered the first master, using
only one color ink, black, to illustrate scenes
from daily life. Okumura Masanobu is con-
sidered the first to use two colors in his prints,
and Suzuki Harunobu was the first master to
produce full-color prints.However the most prolific and well known
artist of the time was Katsushika Hokusai.
He started out life as a book illustrator, and
between the age of 20 and his death illustrat-
ed 270 different books. He is most known for
his series of woodblocks, collected and named
36 Views of Mount Fuji, which included one
of the most reproduced prints of all time, The
Great Wave off Kanagawa.
From this style, Western artists drew inspi- ration from a few key elements of these prints. One was the very calligraphic quality of the line drawings. There was also present a sim- plification, aabstraction and generalization of form. Color was also used in a very flat fash- ion, filling large areas, and silhouettes were common. There was also great use of pattern.The ukiyo-e style was a catalyst that pro- pelled the art world from the Victorian era into the modern style, however gradual it was.In Paris, there was a new law granting freedom of the press, and posters began to plaster the walls of the city. However, many of the posters at the time were just chunks of type.One illustrator, Jules Cheret, sought to change that standard and create something more illustrative. Known as the father of the modern poster, Cheret produced over One Thousand posters during his lifetime. Many of these posters contained many of the same elements. They featured strong, beautiful, young women, known as “Cherettes.” He used bold colors, particularly vibrant reds and blues, and bold calligraphic typography. Cheret was also known for overprinting images to create unique and original effects.He became such an important figure in the French art scene, he was inducted into the French Legion of Honor, for conceiving a new form of art in the poster, and also advancing the function of printing with his new tech- niques.Later in his career, he was able to pass on his style to a new group of designers, including Georges Auriol, Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, and Theophile-Alexandre Steinlen.His counterpart in France was Eugene Grasset. He developed a unique style of his own based on his study of illuminated man- uscripts form the Medieval period. His il- lustrations for “The Tale of the Four Sons of Aymon” were a beautiful mix of line work and watercolor. His posters often have a coloring- book style about them, with broad contour lines and large, flat areas of color. Grasset is also known for incorporating floral motifs into his poster designs.In England, in 1893, the Studio publication featured a cover illustrated by Aubrey Beard- sley, one of the most important figures in the English Art Nouveau movement. Beardsley was known for his broad and striking pen lines, and although they were created mainly in black and white, there was a certain vi- brancy about them. He came to prominance mostly because of his illustratiomns for a new version of Sir Thomas Mallory’s Morte d’Ar- thur.
Beardsley’s imagery was also quite erotic, especially for the time, as England was still emerging form the rigidity of the Victorian era. His illustrations for Aristophanes’ Lys- istrata caused English censors to become so agitated that they actually banned the book from England.
The other leading illustrator in England at the time vying for success was Charles Rick- etts. He, unlike Beardsley, thought of the overall harmony of the printed page, not just the illustrations. To him all of the elements of the page from the illustration to the typog- raphy to the binding of the book, everything had to work together. Instead of the thick , bold, Kelmscott style Beardsley was famous for, Ricketts went for a more delicate quality of line. His designs mimmicked Celtic designs and ornamentations, and were also reminis- cent of the illustrations of figures on Greek pottery and vases.The Art Nouveau moevemnt would arrive in the United States by way of England, more specifically Louis Rhead. Rhead was born in England, and studies in both England and Paris before coming to America. He stayed for eight years before he returned to Europe. Once there, he discovered the posters, mag- azine covers, and illustrations of Grasset. Adopting Grasset’s style he returned to the United States. He did not, however, directly copy Grasset. They both did utilize attractive young women, the same kind of contour line and large areas of flat color, but Rhead decided to use bold, bright, vibrant colors instead of the pale, watercolor-esque coloration of Gras- sets illustrations.William Bradley was another American graphic designer who developed his own style based on a European designer. Self-taught, he studied Beardsley’s work, and so closely im- itated him that Bradley was refered to as the “American Beardsley.” However he was able to turn the inspiration he drew from Beardsley to develop his own style. He becan to use cer- tain photochemical techniques to manipulate images, repeating, overlapping and reversing imagery to create something truly unique.Bradley also had a love of typography, and was one of the first individuals to restrict ty- pography to a rectangular space, changing text size and letter spacing to leep the text con- strained within that space.Bradley is also credited with populariing the chapbook style, where he was able to play with typography by mixing roman, italic and all caapital fonts within a single page, and manip- ulate the letter spacing to make it all work. He also heavily used woodcut illustrations in these books.Bradley was also responsible for the rede- sign of Colliers magazine, which led to a great increse in sales. Instead of doing illustrations for the magazine himself, he hired freelance artists whose individual styles more matched with the theme of the magazine, as his own illustrations had become more reminiscient of story books.
From this style, Western artists drew inspi- ration from a few key elements of these prints. One was the very calligraphic quality of the line drawings. There was also present a sim- plification, aabstraction and generalization of form. Color was also used in a very flat fash- ion, filling large areas, and silhouettes were common. There was also great use of pattern.The ukiyo-e style was a catalyst that pro- pelled the art world from the Victorian era into the modern style, however gradual it was.In Paris, there was a new law granting freedom of the press, and posters began to plaster the walls of the city. However, many of the posters at the time were just chunks of type.One illustrator, Jules Cheret, sought to change that standard and create something more illustrative. Known as the father of the modern poster, Cheret produced over One Thousand posters during his lifetime. Many of these posters contained many of the same elements. They featured strong, beautiful, young women, known as “Cherettes.” He used bold colors, particularly vibrant reds and blues, and bold calligraphic typography. Cheret was also known for overprinting images to create unique and original effects.He became such an important figure in the French art scene, he was inducted into the French Legion of Honor, for conceiving a new form of art in the poster, and also advancing the function of printing with his new tech- niques.Later in his career, he was able to pass on his style to a new group of designers, including Georges Auriol, Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, and Theophile-Alexandre Steinlen.His counterpart in France was Eugene Grasset. He developed a unique style of his own based on his study of illuminated man- uscripts form the Medieval period. His il- lustrations for “The Tale of the Four Sons of Aymon” were a beautiful mix of line work and watercolor. His posters often have a coloring- book style about them, with broad contour lines and large, flat areas of color. Grasset is also known for incorporating floral motifs into his poster designs.In England, in 1893, the Studio publication featured a cover illustrated by Aubrey Beard- sley, one of the most important figures in the English Art Nouveau movement. Beardsley was known for his broad and striking pen lines, and although they were created mainly in black and white, there was a certain vi- brancy about them. He came to prominance mostly because of his illustratiomns for a new version of Sir Thomas Mallory’s Morte d’Ar- thur.
Beardsley’s imagery was also quite erotic, especially for the time, as England was still emerging form the rigidity of the Victorian era. His illustrations for Aristophanes’ Lys- istrata caused English censors to become so agitated that they actually banned the book from England.
The other leading illustrator in England at the time vying for success was Charles Rick- etts. He, unlike Beardsley, thought of the overall harmony of the printed page, not just the illustrations. To him all of the elements of the page from the illustration to the typog- raphy to the binding of the book, everything had to work together. Instead of the thick , bold, Kelmscott style Beardsley was famous for, Ricketts went for a more delicate quality of line. His designs mimmicked Celtic designs and ornamentations, and were also reminis- cent of the illustrations of figures on Greek pottery and vases.The Art Nouveau moevemnt would arrive in the United States by way of England, more specifically Louis Rhead. Rhead was born in England, and studies in both England and Paris before coming to America. He stayed for eight years before he returned to Europe. Once there, he discovered the posters, mag- azine covers, and illustrations of Grasset. Adopting Grasset’s style he returned to the United States. He did not, however, directly copy Grasset. They both did utilize attractive young women, the same kind of contour line and large areas of flat color, but Rhead decided to use bold, bright, vibrant colors instead of the pale, watercolor-esque coloration of Gras- sets illustrations.William Bradley was another American graphic designer who developed his own style based on a European designer. Self-taught, he studied Beardsley’s work, and so closely im- itated him that Bradley was refered to as the “American Beardsley.” However he was able to turn the inspiration he drew from Beardsley to develop his own style. He becan to use cer- tain photochemical techniques to manipulate images, repeating, overlapping and reversing imagery to create something truly unique.Bradley also had a love of typography, and was one of the first individuals to restrict ty- pography to a rectangular space, changing text size and letter spacing to leep the text con- strained within that space.Bradley is also credited with populariing the chapbook style, where he was able to play with typography by mixing roman, italic and all caapital fonts within a single page, and manip- ulate the letter spacing to make it all work. He also heavily used woodcut illustrations in these books.Bradley was also responsible for the rede- sign of Colliers magazine, which led to a great increse in sales. Instead of doing illustrations for the magazine himself, he hired freelance artists whose individual styles more matched with the theme of the magazine, as his own illustrations had become more reminiscient of story books.
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