Art Nouveau Furniture

I have a few dozen books on Arts & Crafts era design, ranging from Greene & Greene architecture to Morris textiles to Tiffany glass. And my husband, a woodworker, has even more resources related to furniture building, especially for items from that era. But it wasn't until recently that we began to look a little farther afield, to the A&C "cousin" of Art Nouveau, and were surprised by how few books there are on the topic. Alastair Duncan's 1982 book was the only one I could find that really dove into it. I'm glad I sprung for the used copy, because it's just what I wanted.The book is organized into three sections: an introduction (the basic "what makes something Art Nouveau" and "how it came about"); Wood, Marquetry, Mounts (a short discussion of the materials used); Designers. The latter section encompasses most of the book, with subsections that detail best-known furniture builders from the School of Nancy, Paris, Belgium, Scotland and England, Spain and Italy, and Germany and Austria. A key designer like Eugene Vallin gets a few pages for his biography, including his best known works (which may not always be furniture), and some sense of his style. For Vallin, for example: "His pieces are recognizable by their monumentality and deeply moulded and fluid contours. He relied on top quality woods and the interplay of light along their curved surfaces for decorative effect, only occasionally incorporating carved figural or floral panels." If you want to be a scholar of the period, you will want to read this cover to cover.Not that I have bothered. I got it for the pictures -- of which there are many. My husband the woodworker is always in the mood for design inspiration, and there's plenty here to inspire me to say, "Oooh, isn't that gorgeous?" This isn't an art book with photos on every page, and probably two thirds are in black-and-white, but the author clearly knew that you wanted to LOOK at the pieces, so they are photographed to include some details as well as the entire chair or marquetry cabinet or desk or whatever. The range of items is impressive, too. It's not just desks or tables, but small boxes and full bedroom sets. Anything produced in that era by the masters is considered worthy of note.Woodworkers can't expect to get how-it's-made information here. You can't peer at the joinery to see how the builders put these together. But you won't be disappointed. This is an authoritative resource on the artists, and some AWFULLY pretty pictures of beautiful furniture.

This book belongs on your shelf if you are an art fanatic! It features magnificent pieces and depicts them well. The book's organization makes it clear to follow, and the selection of pieces was clearly well thought out. Another great work by Alastair Duncan!

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