My Uncle Oswald - Art Nouveau

"The essence of Art Nouveau is a line, a sinuous extended curve found in every design of this style. Art Nouveau rejected the order of straight line and right angle in favour of a more natural movement. Whether these lines were used in realistic depictions of natural forms or as abstracted shapes evoking an organic vitality, the emphasis was on decorative pattern...Solidity, mass, permanence, any connection with weight or stability and stillness ran counter to the Art Nouveau style. The insubstantiality of line was best exploited in light malleable materials, or those that could be fashioned to appear so. It was, in essence, a graphic style of decoration that was transferred onto a variety of solid objects. This curving, flowing line brought with it a feeling of airy lightness, grace and freedom.

Nature was the ultimate source book of the Art Nouveau artist, particularly the plant world, for many artists had a scientist's depth of knowledge of botany. Flowers, stems and leaves were chosen for their curving silhouettes.. Naturally, lilies, irises and orchids were favoured, although any and every form, from palm fronds to seaweed, offered potential for development into an animated pattern. Insects and birds of colour and grace lent themselves to the same stylising and refining process - dragonflies, peacocks, swallows, or creatures such as snakes or greyhounds. These decorative possibilities could also be developed from the curves of the female body, particularly when combined with long, loose, flowing hair which could be arranged into a fantasy of curls and waves."

- William Hardy, Introduction to Art Nouveau Style

        My Uncle Oswald is set neither firmly within the Art Nouveau or Art Deco movements, but is on the cusp of both. As the majority of the story takes place in 1919, this would be very late in the Nouveau, but right at the beginning of the Deco periods. Thus it seems sensible to assume that there would be more of a Nouveau influence, as Deco would not yet have had time to becom established. Art Nouveau also has strong links to the erotic, a theme which Dahl's story shares.

        An overarching theme consistent throughout Art Nouveau design, whether furniture, illustration or architecture is the influence of nature. This can not only be seen literally, in the embossing of plants, and flowers and sculptural metal work and ceramics, but in more abstract lines and shapes. Whereas Art Deco would develop into something more angular and geometric (in keeping with the advance of technology and the Machine Age), Art Nouveau can be characterised by sweeping, organic lines, which are translated into softly curving tables, chairs, bedrames, chandeliers, lamps, jewellery, doorframes, vases, a variety of which can be seen below.

        The broad variety of objects which demonstrate the Art Nouveau influence shows how the artists of this movement desired to combine the fine arts and the applied arts, making even utilitarian objects beautiful. The shapes and lines seen in the work of artists such as Beardsley, Mucha and Klimt are closely echoed in the work of designers such as Tiffany, Galle, and Fouquet. Nouveau is now considered an important transitional style between the eclectic historic revival styles of the Victorian era and the 19th Century, and the modernism of the 20th Century.

        While these objects are no doubt beautiful, they do present something of a problem. While the intricate curves and tendrils do not present a problem in two dimensions, if I were to craft a miniature table or chair which curved in three dimensions (that is, protruding forwards and backwards as well as side to side) I would be unable to cut this item using the laser cutter, but would rather have to sculpt it by hand. While this may not be impossible, it may prove to be more time consuming.