It worked out conveniently for me that this project came along when it did. There were different options for what we needed to visually/verbally express our poster and I chose the option dealing with favorite movie. My favorite movie happens to be Moulin Rouge, so it was convenient that there were art nouveau images that were about and even had it written out. I hope that this entry is interesting as well as informative. Enjoy! (There is a quick look list of the different components at the bottom in case you don’t want to read the in-depth explanations).
- I broke up my image geometrically like many art nouveau pieces. I used the same basic design as Ilsee, Princess de Tripoli, a lithographic print by Alphonse Mucha. I found this image on a slideshow from class. My post page is divided by horizontal lines, which create rectangles across the page. The top features an arch encompassing a half circle. This particular piece was featured in an Art Nouveau PowerPoint.
- During the art nouveau movement there was a revival of medieval book style and design that we took notes about in class. I included a large decorative drop cap like the one featured in The Works of Geoffrey Chaucer by William Morris as well as in other hand illustrated books. The book mentions how this work with its “system of type, initials, borders and illustrations were combined to create the dazzling Kelmscott style” (Meggs 174). This piece was shown in our William Morris PowerPoint.
- Many pieces we saw in class featured woman fitting into shapes; therefore I placed the woman figure inside the semicircle. She is representing Satine, the sparkling diamond of the Moulin Rouge--Nicole Kidman’s character. An example of this type of artwork would be the Job posters by Mucha that was featured in an Art Nouveau PowerPoint.
- A major theme during the art nouveau movement is placing the emphasis on the woman figure. The woman mentioned above is from Eugene Grasset’s Encre L. Marquet, a lithographic print from 1892 that originally was designed as an advertisement for ink. Much of Jules Cheret’s art focused on his “Cherettes.” These women were “neither prudes no prostitutes, but self assured, happy women hwo enjoyed life to the fullest, wearing low-cut dresses, dancing, drinking wine, and even smoking in public” (197). Cheret was dubbed the “father of women’s liberation” (197).
- The cancan dancers are taken from Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec’s La Troupe de Mlle Eglantine, a chalk lithograph with brush and spatter in three colors. The organic plantlike lines commonly used during this time convey elegance and energy, while capturing the movement of the dancers. The book mentions that this style of line often pointed towards abstract art because the lines were invented rather than copied form nature (Meggs 195).
SIDENOTE: In the movie, a main Bohemian character is actually names Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec-Monfa, which is actually the artist’s real name. In the movie they call him Toulouse for short. In both real life and the movie, Toulouse-Lautrec was a very short in stature due to a growth defect, which caused him to have an adult size torso while retaining the legs of a child.
I thought it only fitting to include some of his artwork in my composition since his work captured the theatrical life of Paris with the excitement, elegance and provocative images of the modern and sometimes decadent life of those times. Here the ladies are doing the infamous cancan dance the Moulin Rouge is associated with.
- Another artistic element popular during the time that is featured in our book is the use of shapes becoming symbols. A great example of this that is used in my composition is Aubrey Beardsley’s The Toilette of Salome, a line block print with ink on paper. Beardsley reduced the woman’s dress to its most minimal and elemental forms. It is understood how the shapes work together to create the woman’s dress with limited detail. The symbols create familiar forms. I find this style to be simplistic and elegant. This scene reminded me of parts in the movie where she is getting ready to perform and is dressed in beautiful garments.
SIDENOTE: The first version of the print is much more sexual featuring hermaphrodites and erotic references.
- Of course I would have to include pattern in my composition because it was a huge component in art during the time. I included the especially decorative Length of Printed Cotton by Morris behind the main woman figure to pay tribute the detailed pattern in works during the Arts and Crafts Movement in which Morris was hugely apart of. This work was shown in the William Morris PowerPoint.
- A floral emphasis in pattern during the time is prevalent in many pieces we talked about on our PowerPoint presentations. The pattern featured in the arch above the main woman figure is Rabbit Pattern Printed Fabric also by Morris. The use of animals such as birds and stylized forms was very common. This component is discussed more in-depth in our Megg’s book in chapter 10. It can also be seen in many works by the Kelmscott Press. (I altered the color to fit my composition better).
- A huge inspiration for the art nouveau movement was Japanese woodblock prints. These prints featured flattened forms. Artists like William Bradley created simple and flat images such as Victor Bicycles, Overman Wheel Co. More information on Japanese woodblock prints can be found at the beginning of chapter 11 in the textbook from pages 190-194. The man figured pulled from the original piece represents Christian, the young English writer who comes to Paris to follow the Bohemian Revolution and ends up falling in love with Satine. This work was featured in the Art Nouveau PowerPoint.
- Lastly, I wanted to convey the art nouveau component of unity, within each element and within the overall piece. Even though everything is separate or from different places, they come together to represent my favorite movie. I have the character represented and have hopefully captured the emotions as well as the energy and movement of the Moulin Rouge itself.
*The written out “Moulin Rouge” comes from Toulouse-Lautrec’s Moulin Rouge: La Goulue, a lithograph printed in four colors.
Quick List of Components
- Geometrically broken up images
- Revival of medieval book style
- Woman fitting into shapes
- Emphasis on woman figure
- Organic lines
- Shapes becoming symbols
- Decorative pattern
- Floral emphasis, birds, and stylized forms
- Flattened forms
- Unity
this was a very helpful post :) thanks
ReplyDelete