Art Nouveau: The Architecture of Modern Life

Leading expert Paul Greenhalgh presents a groundbreaking visual and scholarly journey through Art Nouveau – spanning 26 countries and enriched with stunning new photography. The Art Nouveau style dramatically impacted architecture, transforming attitudes to late-19th and early-20th century building practices, and making possible the rise of the various Modern Movements in architecture and design. Formed by the social and political environments of this turbulent period in European history, Art Nouveau was a complex, multifaceted phenomenon from its inception, changing shape continually through time and from country to country. This book unravels the various threads that constituted the style, offering fresh philosophical and aesthetic perspectives and providing a definition of what Art Nouveau actually was, and what it meant to its architects and designers. For the first time in a single volume, it shows the extraordinary spread of the style including in countries not usually recognised as being part of the story, with twenty-six countries represented through superb new photography. The author and photographer had privileged access to many famous buildings, as well as lesser-known architectural masterpieces. Uniquely, this book also considers the later heritage of Art Nouveau, and its long-term effects on subsequent architecture.