Chapter 11: Art Nouveau

Chapter 11 dealt with the transition to the Art Nouveau period.  In  England, this period focused primarily on the graphic arts and illustration rather than posters, product design and architecture.  Aubrey Beardsley was a very famous man through his cult-like, exotic and demonic pictures.  He created an illustration that was awfully close to a design by William Morris in the 1890's.  Morris proceeded to sue him simply because he felt copied didn't like the mood behind Beardsley's further depiction.  Rickett was also a famous face in the Art Nouveau period, focusing primarily on the entire book as a whole.  Each page was taken into consideration as how it would affect the total book, same as the binding, the end sheets, the title page etc, etc.  

Jules Cheret was another influential man by breaking new ground in poster design.  He made flat panels and flat designs move across the page.  The symbolic aspect of Art Nouveau can really be seen in his work.  

And yet another man to point out is Mucha, who symbolized women in a very different way compared to the past.  He recreated a poster for a famous actress in a very short amount of time because she didn't like the first poster created by a previous artist.  Everyone was flabbergasted at his work- the use of Byzantine style mosaics was incredibly detailed.  Since he didn't have much time to complete his work, it wasn't finished and was left with a colorless bottom.  One thing to point out about Mucha's work is that he portrayed women unrealistically, with  no specific age, nationality, or deriving from a specific historical period.  

I think it's pretty bad ass that Ethel Reed stepped up and became the first Graphic Designer in America.  I know the women's rights movement began in the 1950's, but this is a huge step for women because they are working!  It's not just factory or industrial work either, but creating something new and exciting in a time of change.

In Megg's book, it states that Morris 'was so angry when he saw Beardsley's Morte d'Arthur that he considered legal action' (200), but it never states whether or not he sued him.  Did he pursue legal action or was it just a threat out of anger?  I'm curious because I couldn't imagine the law had much content based on copyright issues.