Art Nouveau – Utopia: Reconciling the Irreconcilable by Klaus-Jurgen Sembach (Taschen 1991) gives a comprehensive introduction to the groundbreaking design movement.
Art Nouveau, whose emergence at the same time as cinema was no mere coincidence, represents the most remarkable attempt to reconcile the demands of the technical age with the undying wish for beauty and glorification
or to pit the one against the other. Under the title “Art Nouveau – Utopia: Reconciling the Irreconcilable” the reform movement of the turn of the century is not only dealt with as an artistic event, but those economic and political interests which in- spired, supported and handicapped it are also taken into account. In the chapters “Movement”, “Unrest” and “Equilibrium” the historical phenomenon as a whole is characterised and is also presented with its own distinct local features. The centres of Brussels, Nancy, Barcelona, Glasgow, Helsinki and Chicago are dealt with in subchapters as are Munich, Darmstadt and Weimar. Finally, Vienna, as that city in which the synthesis achieved its culmination, is described separately. The outstanding artists are dealt with in detail in connection with the respective cities of their greatest activity. The result is a complex picture of the symbiosis of architecture, furniture design and craftsmanship with their corresponding approaches to artistic revitalisation.
– Klaus-Jurgen Sembach, Art Nouveau – Utopia: Reconciling the Irreconcilable (Taschen, 1991), excerpt from the book description
The text is in English. The book is profusely illustrated with photographs and other visual material.
Our copy in stock is in very good condition. The pages are clean, no markings. The glueing of the binding is fine. The covers show only some minor traces of shelf wear.
