Illustration: Paul Burck. Sommernacht tapestry design, c1899.
The German artist and designer Paul Burck produced work in a number of disciplines, including textiles. His tapestry work was particularly impressive and followed many of the new and inspiring ideas that were prevalent in Europe at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries.
The five pieces of tapestry work shown in this article give some indication as to the direction that Burck's work was taking during the last few years of the nineteenth century. All five examples come from the German art and decoration magazine Deutsche Kunst und Dekoration published in 1899. Burck's work during this period gives a good indication not just as to how his personal creative journey was developing, but also as to how the general nature of the Art Nouveau movement was affecting different aspects of both the decorative and fine arts in Germany.
Illustration: Paul Burck. Tapestry design, c1899.
Burck's work is often seen as being particularly influenced, at least in its early stages, by the natural world with many compositions involving nature and rural scenes. His tapestry work during this period appears very much as a series of studies of rural scenery, with trees being particularly prevalent as subjects for composition.
Although, it could be said that the natural themes that Burck used in his work tied him into the framework of the Art Nouveau movement, it was much more a case of how he interpreted the natural world, rather than the subject matter itself. His style is very much one of an emotional feeling for nature rather than the more usual acute observational variety that had been the mainstay in most nature based compositions in both the fine and decorative arts. This emotionally led observational style became one of the important founding factors of the Art Nouveau movement. Sometimes this unique perspective could founder and become little more than affectation and style, but in its more creative stance it could be seen as an almost empathic awareness and appreciation of the forces of nature and the natural world. This often took the format of a perceived physical joy of life, particularly in Central Europe where the Art Nouveau movement took on almost cult identity with its association with youth and vigour.
Illustration: Paul Burck. Tapestry design, c1899.
Some of the tapestry pieces shown here are more detailed than others. While some veer more towards the abstract, others play with decorative formats so that pattern work inspired by the original composition becomes part of the border work of the original and therefore a compliment to the piece. It was not unusual to see both the decorative and fine arts incorporating border panels as integral parts of compositional work.
Burck's work can never be wholly classed as standard examples of the Art Nouveau style. Every creative individual has a unique standpoint and therefore their input will always view the world, their time period and the decorative styles that are prevalent, through the prism of their own ideas and influences no matter how strange or ordinary they might at first appear. Human interpretation of source material will always be subtly graded as definitions of the unique. Lumping together groups of individual expressions as a style format is helpful to quantify particular eras as generalisations, but that is all they can ever be.
Illustration: Paul Burck. Tapestry design, c1899.
The Art Nouveau movement, like any other decorative style title, is full of individual expressions, some of which are close to the standard set by successive generations, others form a much looser connection and are linked in a sometimes almost tangentially associated way with the style movement. Although it is tempting to label artists and designers with the titles that have been given to them, this can only be a partial explanation of their creative careers. Admittedly no artist or designer works in complete isolation from the human community, as they are connected socially, politically and creatively with their own peers and that is also reflected in their creative careers. However, it is sometimes difficult to say that this particular artist worked in the Art Nouveau movement, while another worked in the Art Deco as if that were explanation enough. The dimension of the unique individual, their perspective and understanding of their allotted moment in time and space, must also be taken into account and appreciated.
Illustration: Paul Burck. Herbst tapestry design, c1899.
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422 Art Nouveau Designs and Motifs in Full Color (Dover Pictorial Archive Series)
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The Art Nouveau Style Book of Alphonse Mucha
Treasury of Art Nouveau Design & Ornament (Dover Pictorial Archive Series)
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305 Authentic Art Nouveau Jewelry Designs
Art Nouveau Motifs and Vignettes (Dover Pictorial Archive Series)
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300 Art Nouveau Designs and Motifs in Full Color (Dover Pictorial Archives)
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Art Nouveau (Architecture and Design Library)
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Art Nouveau: An Anthology of Design and Illustration from "The Studio" (Dover Pictorial Archives)
Art Nouveau, 1890-1914
Art Nouveau (World of Art)
