Art Nouveau
Arthur Heygate Mackmurdo’s work was highly detailed especially ornate work was reserved for his chairs. They paid homage to the Gothic era while still being very organic in the line-work. The lines were thick, dark and spiraling that created these abstract shapes. The shapes were playful at first glance. It was a highlight of the Art Nouveau era. Charles Rohlf also was a designer of furniture. His work line is similar to Arthur’s. It has this organic form on the backing of the chair. His work processes a very complex design having multiple ovals leading into these ornate leaves at the end of the ovals. George Ohr did ceramics art, and in my opinion, he was way ahead of his time. He created vessels that could not be categorized under classical pieces of pottery. He thought outside the box and what was prevalent at the time by making his vessels organic and more earth-like. He also experimented with different pottery methods. He stretched the boundaries of what you can do with clay by crushing it and making it look like tin. He had very thin, wispy lines throughout his work which had the effect of making his art whimsical in an odd way.
During this time period, the invention of printing full-color books for the masses was developed. Instead of just one particular group, anyone could have a book in color. The second invention that was noticeable was wallpaper in huge pieces. The great thing about this wallpaper is that it wasn’t only for the wealthy; they produced enough for the working-class this is also because of the previous industrial revolution era. The ability to create a large quantity of products in a short amount of time made wallpaper more accessible. Up until then wallpaper had been exclusively the domain of the wealthy but by mass production was made available to the general public.
Fretwork Chair- Arthur Heygate Mackmurdo. 1882 London.
https://www.wmgallery.org.uk/collection/themes/arts-and-crafts/object/fretwork-chair- g36b-c-1882
The Sculptural Tall-back Chair, Charles Rolf , 1853-1936
https://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2010/charles-rohlfs/photo-gallery
