Art Nouveau (French: lit. 'New Art'), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It is often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and flowers. Other characteristics of Art Nouveau are a sense of dynamism and movement, often given by asymmetry or whiplash lines, and the use of modern materials, particularly iron, glass, ceramics and later concrete, to create unusual forms and larger open spaces. It was popular between 1890 and 1910 during the Belle Époque period, and was a reaction against the academicism, eclecticism and historicism of 19th century architecture and decorative art.

The most well known artists of the style are Alphonse Mucha, Gustav Klimt, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, the architect Antoni Gaudí, the glassmaker and jeweler René Lalique, and the stained glass maker Louis Comfort Tiffany

See also

• tag group:art