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Mar 2, 2024 16 tweets 6 min read Read on X
Art Nouveau doorways are delightful.

Like this one in Brussels, designed by Ernest Delune in 1893 for the house of a famous glass maker.

And there are plenty more just like it... Image
Art Nouveau was a movement that appeared in Belgium in the 1890s — it might just be the best thing Belgium has ever done for the world.

Hence much of the best Art Nouveau architecture (and doorways) are in Belgium.

Like this one in Antwerp: Image
Art Nouveau literally means "New Art" in French.

And that's the best way to think about it: this was an attempt to find new forms, methods, shapes, and decorations.

Not Classical, not Gothic, not based on the conventions of the past — something different. Image
And you can sense those efforts.

Art Nouveau design is full of life, creative passion, experimentation, and excitement.

Even a century later this sort of thing somehow still feels *new* and *different*. Villa Beau-Site, Brussels, designed by Arthur Nelissen (1905)
From Belgium Art Nouveau spread to France and then the rest of the Europe.

There were subgenres of Art Nouveau in Austria, known as Jugendstil, and in Catalonia, known as Modernisme.

This is the Casa Comalat in Barcelona, designed by Salvador Valeri i Pupurull, in 1909. Image
Meanwhile the Austrian architect Joseph Maria Olbrich designed several houses for a sort of Art Nouveau artists' colony in Darmstadt, Germany.

Including these fabulous doorways:
Image
Image
There was also Art Nouveau in Finland.

Here, again, we see that motif of the oversized, circular doorway at this apartment in Turku. Image
And here, in Prague, we see the emphasis on craftsmanship: Image
All these variants of Art Nouveau were united by certain core principles.

Such as taking inspiration from nature, from the curves and flowing lines of flowers.

Either integrating flowers into the design or simply imitating their shapes and conjuring an atmosphere of delicacy.
Villa Stempel, Strasbourg (1902)
Image
Art Nouveau was also about making the most of materials like iron and glass... along with mosaics, murals, sculptures, and woodwork.

This was a sophisticated, luxurious, almost decadent style of architecture.

Just look at the Maison Saint-Cyr in Brussels! Image
Asymmetry was also a major motif of Art Nouveau design — in direct contrast to the principles of Classical Architecture.

Sometime in the overall form of a building, or sometimes in its patterns and decoration.

Hence doorways like the one designed by Delune. Image
The result of Art Nouveau's asymmetry, flowing lines, colourfulness, abundant decoration, and oversized elements is that it feels whimsical, almost dreamlike and fantastical.

It doesn't take itself too seriously — it is, simply, delightful. Image
And that's part of the reason Art Nouveau remains so charming to us.

It is a reminder that something as simple as a doorway doesn't need to be boring and functional — it can be beautiful, delightful, funny, or intriguing.
Casa Grego in Tortosa designed by Pau Monguio (1908)
Image
The artists of Art Nouveau — architects, painters, carpenters, glass makers, iron workers — tried to do something original rather than merely doing architecture as it had always been done.

They stood against convention... and they succeeded. Villa Berthe in Yvelines, France, designed by Hector Guimard
It's strange to think that Art Nouveau only really lasted for about twenty years.

By the end of the First World War, in 1918, the movement was more or less finished, soon to be replaced by Art Deco. Lavirotte Building, Paris, designed by Jules Lavirotte (1901)
But, in that brief period of its zenith, Art Nouveau gave the world some of the most wonderful architecture it has ever known — and still, to this day, some of its most delightful doorways... Image

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More from @culturaltutor

Aug 31
We spend more than 90% of our time inside, so why do we design so many of our interiors like this?

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It's generic, boring, and genuinely bad for our physical and psychological health... Image
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Buckingham Palace, despite being one of the world's most famous and visited buildings, is essentially quite boring and uninspiring from the outside.

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Like the one below in Bydgoszcz, Poland, from 1900.

But, most importantly, they're just infrastructure. Image
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Tell your friends! Your enemies! Your lovers!

The Spanish edition of my new book, El Tutor Cultural, is now available for pre-order.

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