Art Nouveau, french for "new art", was a new international style of art introduced at the turn of the 20th century (1890-1905) in the streets of Paris, France. The movement was strongly influenced by Czech artist Alfons Mucha. Alfons Mucha produced a "lithographed" poster, which appeared on January 1, 1895 in the streets of Paris as an advertisment for the play Gismonda by Victorien Sardou. Thanks to this, Mucha became an overnight sensation as he announced the new artistic style to the citizens of Paris. At first the new style of art was called "Mucha Style" but soon became known as Art Nouveau.The 1900 Universal Exhibition in Paris spread the "Mucha style" internationally, of which Mucha said "I think the exposition universally made some contribution toward bringing aesthetic values into arts and crafts."
Art Nouveau can be characterized by organic, especially floral and other plant-inspired motifs, as well as highly-stylized, flowing curvilinear forms.
By the time of his death on July 14 1939, Mucha's style was considered outdated. However, his son, Jiří Mucha, devoted much of his life to writing about him and bringing attention to his art. Interest in Mucha's distinctive style experienced a strong revival in the 1960's and is particularly evident in the psychedelic posters of Hapshash and the Coloured Coat, the collective name for two British artists, Michael English and Nigel Waymouth, who designed posters for groups such as Pink Floyd and The Incredible String Band.
Hapshash and the Coloured Coat-Pink Floyd/Jimi Hendrix
Sources:
-Paul Miller
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