The history of art is marked with specific eras of design styles. One short-lived era that doesn’t get a whole lot of attention in the hand embroidery world these days (though it is gaining popularity again) is the Art Nouveau era, which lasted – at its height – only about 20 some odd years, from the end of the 1800’s through the early 1900’s.

The style had its origins in the Arts and Crafts movement, but the features of Art Nouveau design can be isolated and made distinct from the design of the Arts and Crafts movement. Much more “modern” in execution, what we call Art Nouveau in general today was known by many different names at the time, including Style Moderne in France, “Tiffany style” in the States (think: the stained glass of Louis Comfort Tiffany), and, in the UK, “Modern Style” or “Glasgow Style” (after the Glasgow School of Arts). Throughout Europe, each country had its own name for the distinct style of the Art Nouveau age. Considering its relatively short-lived (but a bit frenzied) popularity, the style spread and was adopted very quickly around the globe.

The Art Nouveau style extended into not only the fine arts, but also the applied arts, so you’ll find not only paintings and sculptures in Art Nouveau style, but you’ll also find extant examples of stained glass, jewelry, metal, textiles, furniture, architecture, mosaics, and all kinds of applied, decorative artwork made during the era.

I like the Art Nouveau style. It’s so clean. It strikes me as a perfect fit, too, for the “minimalist” approach to a lot of decor these days.

But enough about the history part of things! Let’s talk about this book: Motifs Floraux Art Nouveau, or Art Nouveau Floral Motifs. I know there are a lot of embroiderers out there who are also Art Nouveau enthusiasts, so I thought this book would be of interest!