Illustration: Design work, 1900.
One of the defining emblems of the Art Nouveau movement was the whiplash motif. It has been known by various other names and formats, ranging from 'noodle' to 'tapeworm' but the moniker of 'whiplash' has stayed with the movement.
The lines that very often make up the design work of the period, were often seen as languorous, sensual and by some even lascivious, but they could also provoke ideas of sharper and more defined movement and gesture. 'Whiplash' is not the first word that comes to mind when thinking of the soporific qualities that Art Nouveau is often famed for. However, it does show that the movement could be adaptable and when it needed a harder edge, it could find one, even if just a metaphor.
Illustration: Design work, 1900.
No decorative style appears fully formed devoid of roots, and the Art Nouveau movement is no different. It has its origins in a number of styles and cultures from a range of eras that include Victorian Gothic and the Arts & Crafts movement. The iconic whiplash however, can trace its origin to a revived interest in the highly decorative, but very often fragile Rococo interiors of the eighteenth century.
Similarities between the two decorative styles are there and can be identified quite clearly. Both used the sensual and the sinuous in large quantities, and both have become associated as feminine in style and sympathy. However, they were also both often accused in their own contemporary eras of being overly fussy, convoluted and resorting to studied decadence and affectation. It would perhaps be stretching credulity a little too far to draw too many conclusions as to their shared similarities, this would imply that at some basic level ,they were the same, and they were clearly not. The world of the eighteenth century Rococo was not the same space as nineteenth century Art Nouveau, there were different theoretical ideals to the two decorative styles, as well as general social and political differences in the historical eras themselves.
Illustration: Design work, 1900.
There were also many new and different influences on the latter style than the former. For example, Art Nouveau was heavily indebted to traditional Japanese design culture, Japan being a largely isolated and unknown entity in the eighteenth century. Out of the interest in Japanese decorative styles and particularly their art and craft techniques, came the use of the graphic flat one-dimensional aspect of much of the Art Nouveau output. Although surface pattern and design was used extensively through much of the nineteenth century across Europe, it was the Japanese influence that produced some of the most recognised elements of the Art Nouveau period.
Illustration: Design work, 1900.
Which brings us back to the whiplash. While it undoubtedly has its origins in the European Rococo decorative style of the eighteenth century, it also owes a great debt to a range of style eras from Celtic to Japanese. it would perhaps be more accurate to call the whiplash and Art Nouveau in general an eclectic style may well help to sum up, at least broadly, both the appeal and purpose of the movement.
Further reading links:
Art Nouveau Designs (Design Source Books)
Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau: Utopia: Reconciling the Irreconcilable (Taschen's 25th Anniversary Special Editions Series)
422 Art Nouveau Designs and Motifs in Full Color (Dover Pictorial Archive Series)
Art Nouveau (Art and Ideas Series)
305 Authentic Art Nouveau Jewelry Designs
Treasury of Art Nouveau Design & Ornament (Dover Pictorial Archive Series)
Art Nouveau Flowers (Design Source Books)
300 Art Nouveau Designs and Motifs in Full Color (Dover Pictorial Archive Series)
Art Nouveau 1890-1914
Art Nouveau in Fin-de-Siecle France: Politics, Psychology, and Style (Studies on the History of Society and Culture)
The Art Nouveau Style
Art Nouveau Floral Patterns and Stencil Designs in Full Color (Dover Pictorial Archive Series)
The Essence of Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau: An Anthology of Design and Illustration from "The Studio" (Dover Pictorial Archive Series)
