The Triumph of Nature returns us vividly to an entrancing time in European decorative arts, from its beginnings in the Arts and Crafts movement and Japonisme, through to its evolution into Art Deco style.
An exuberant, radical style, Art Nouveau blithely trampled many of the Victorian Age’s orthodoxies of art and design. Exploding age-old strictures with its fanciful approach to furniture, graphic arts, jewelry, architecture and more, Art Nouveau also embraced new technologies and incorporated foreign stylistic flourishes. It was also unabashedly luxurious and sensual. The Triumph of Nature: Art Nouveau from the Chrysler Museum of Art brings together approximately 120 of the finest Art Nouveau treasures from the uncommonly rich holdings of the Chrysler Museum of Art, drawing primarily from the gifts of Walter P. and Jean Chrysler, whose homes were once the havens for these opulent treasures. Designing for a range of clients and settings including domestic interiors, innovative artists such as de Feure, Majorelle, and Gallé fashioned their eclectic works to play off each other in harmonious visual arrangements, conceiving of Art Nouveau as an enveloping style. This stunningly illustrated comprehensive volume gathers a profusion of Art Nouveau works and accessories—furniture, paintings, sculpture, mosaics, books, posters, prints, lamps, glass, and other stunning objets d’art— all of them originally designed and coordinated to complement each other in elaborate ensembles.
