Fingerplate - Brass - Art Nouveau

A beautiful piece of cast brass made for us locally. This is a solid brass fingerplate in an Art Nouveau style. It measures 9½in long by 1¾in wide.

Art Nouveau is an international philosophy and style of art, architecture and applied art—especially the decorative arts—that were most popular during 1890–1905. The name "Art Nouveau" is French for "new art". It is known also as Jugendstil, German for "youth style", named for the magazine Jugend, which promoted it, and in Italy, Stile Liberty from the department store in London, Liberty & Co., which popularised the style. A reaction to academic art of the 19th century, it was inspirated in natural forms and structures, not only in flowers and plans, also in curve lines. The architects tried to be in harmony with the natural enviroment. It is also considered a philosophy of design of furniture. They must be designed according to the whole building and making part of ordinary life.

The style was influenced strongly by Czech artist Alphonse Mucha, when Mucha produced a lithographed poster, which appeared on 1 January 1895 in the streets of Paris as an advertisement for the play Gismonda by Victorien Sardou, featuring Sarah Bernhardt. It popularised the new artistic style and its creator to the citizens of Paris. Initially named Style Mucha, (Mucha Style), his style soon became known as Art Nouveau.