Before Class: Chapter Eleven

1. Sum up the reading in your own words in 1 paragraph.
Art Nouveau, the decorative style that took place from 1890 to 1910, encompassed all design arts including architecture, furniture, fashion, and graphics. The term art nouveau began in Paris, a art gallery called Salon de l'Art Nouveau, which included Japanese art and "new art" by European and American artists. Ukiyo-e was the art movement that captured Japan and the West; "pictures of the floating world" blended realistic narratives with influences of decorative design. The chapter mention a few more commonly know Japanese artist; Hishikawa Moronobu who was widely respected as the first master of ukiyo-e print, Okumura Masanobu was among the first artists to move from hand-coloring single-color woodcuts to two-color printing, Kitagawa Utamaro was popular for his portrayal of beautiful women, and the most renowned artist, Katsushika Hokusai, who produced about 35,000 works during his life time. Art Nouveau was the bridge between Victorian clutter and modernsim. Artists like Cheret, Toulouse-Lautrec, Mucha, and Steinlen were popular poster artists during this time period, even though Mucha is the only artist's name synonymous with the art nouveau period. Aubrey Beardsley was popular in England for about five years with his bold pen line and white and black design. The art nouveau style moved on to America where it grew with Louis Rhead and Will Bradley, who mostly designed magazine covers and layouts.

2. Name the one thing (or person) you found most interesting from the reading.
One thing that I found to be really interesting from the chapter was Ethel Reed. She was the first American woman to achieve national prominence as a graphic designer and illustrator. She became well known as a book illustrator and poster designer at the age of eighteen.

3. State at least one question you have after the reading. (if you state none here, you’d better have more detail done above to offset the work.)
Why was the art nouveau period so short compared to other periods we have studied?