Art Nouveau vs Glasgow Style

アール・ヌーヴォー / グラスゴー・スタイル

Art Nouveau comes from Historical Styles and Glasgow Style from Fin de Siècle Art. They are reached for with some of the same intent, which is where they get confused.

Art Nouveau

Art Nouveau — Alphonse Mucha《ジスモンダ》ポスター 1894 — Wikimedia Commons / Public domainArt Nouveau — Alphonse Mucha《F. Champenois 印刷所》1897 — Wikimedia Commons / Public domain

Joins letters, figures and ornament into one flowing, plant-like line.

Glasgow Style

Glasgow Style — Margaret Macdonald — The May Queen (1900), photo: dalbera (Flickr) — Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 2.0Glasgow Style — Margaret Macdonald — The Heart of the Rose — Wikimedia Commons / Public domain

A decorative-art language developed around Glasgow at the turn of the twentieth century. Elongated figures, stems and abstract roses meet linear frames and restrained fields of colour. It belongs to Art Nouveau's regional history, but its tall proportions and geometric divisions distinguish it from a general vocabulary of flowing plants.

Art NouveauGlasgow Style
Era1890s–1910sc. 1890–1920
FamilyHistorical StylesFin de Siècle Art
KindStyleStyle
CuesBotanical curves / Ornamental frames / Female figures / Muted natural colorsAttenuated figures, stems and fine vertical lines / Roses and heart-shaped leaves reduced to lines and planes / Green, purple and pale pink against light grounds or dark contours / Straight frames and grids interrupted by small plant curves
Best used forSpeaking of craft and handwork · Leading with beauty and narrativeGiving books or exhibitions a turn-of-the-century decorative character through line and open space · Connecting interiors, furniture and print with tall proportions and abstract plant forms
TypeCurvilinear serifs or hand letteringKeep tall display lettering to short headings; give body text its own readable setting.
CompositionVertical formats, frame compositions, a central figureEstablish straight compartments, then place a slender figure or plant in one of them and leave space around it.
MaterialDusty greens and gold, line work, paper textureUse paper tones, muted green and purple, and dark timber; repeat a small curved accent sparingly.
CautionStock vine ornaments stay superficial. Carry the line through the whole composition.Do not copy a single rose motif and call it Mackintosh style. Distinguish the Four's individual practices from commercial imitation, and exchange with Vienna from identity with the Secession.

Put these two together

Historical Styles ／ Fin de Siècle Art

IndexStyle