Vital Art Nouveau 1900

Vital Art Nouveau 1900 presents a selection of the most outstanding works of Czech and European Art Nouveau style from the collection of the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague, all of which are on permanent display at the Prague Municipal House. This volume establishes the Art Nouveau arts and crafts as part of the forward-looking trends and emancipation efforts that evolved in the late nineteenth century; as a reformist art movement, Art Nouveau strove to achieve a unity between art and life, aspiring to overcome the Romantic duality of beauty versus reality, or "the truth of life." These rebellious artists not only forced a break with the rigidity of existing art practices, but also regenerated forms of artistic expression that many considered to be stagnant. Infused with the popular aesthetic theories of the times, such as Vitalism and Spiritism, the Art Nouveau aesthetic answered and responded to the new zest for life that swept nineteenth-century society as a whole. Masterpieces of decorative art exhibited at the famous Paris World's Fair of 1900 are reproduced in this volume in color, alongside a variety of works ranging from paintings, poster art, magazines and ceramic works to jewelry, glassware and furniture.