Art Nouveau Jewelry

Jewelry was one of the most successful expressions of Art Nouveau style. This book provides an account of the movement that spread through Europe and the US. Biographies of over 300 designers are included, with a guide to identification, from the elegance of the French masters - Vever, Lalique and Fouquet - to the linear, geometric designs of the Viennese - Josef Hoffmann and Koloman Moser.

Jewelry was one of the purest, and most successful, expressions of the Art Nouveau movement. It captured the atmosphere and the passion of the fin de siAcle, as well as the moral and artistic freedom that characterized the period. Fresh designs and motifs were created with an intense excitement that was shared by artists all over the world. Sensuous animal and plant forms surged with new life; the female form struggled toward a new freedom, suggesting a long-hidden eroticism; and sunsets and changing seasons reflected the symbolic view of art in nature borrowed from the Japanese. This book deals with major jewelers in France--their inspirations, techniques, and themes--and then follows the parallel modern movement that spread through Europe and the United States. With a detailed reference section and a collection of dramatic photographs, this treasury will appeal to collectors and jewelry lovers alike.