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CHAPTER 31 The Move Toward Modernism 127

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veneration for fine craftsmanship and the Symbolist glori-
fication of the sensuous and fleeting forms in nature.
A distinguished architect and a great admirer of Eiffel’s
1064-foot-high tower (see Figure 30.27), Horta translated
the serpentine lines and organic rhythms of flowers and
plants into magnificent glass and cast-iron designs
for public buildings and private residences
(Figure 31.16).
“Art in nature, nature in art”
was the motto of Art Nouveau.
The sinuous curves of blos-
soms, leaves, and tendrils,
executed in iron, were
immortalized in such
notable monuments as
the rapid transport sys-
tem known as the Paris
Métro. They also appear
in wallpaper, poster design,
book illustration, tableware, and jewelry. In Art
Nouveau, as in late nineteenth-century literature and
painting, women were a favorite subject: the female,
often shown with long, luxuriant hair, might be pictured as

seductress or enchantress. She might

appear as a fairy or water nymph (Figure

31.17), a poetic, sylphlike creature. In Art

Nouveaupins, bracelets, and combs, she is

the human counterpart of vines and flow-

ers fashioned in delicately crafted metal

armatures and semiprecious stones.

Such images suggest that Art

Nouveau, although modern in its

effort to communicate meaning

by way of shapes, patterns, and

decoration, was actually a

waning expression of a centu-

ry-long romantic infatuation

with nature.

In America, Art Nouveau

briefly attracted the attention of

such architects as Louis Sullivan

(see chapter 30), who embellished some

of his otherwise austere office buildings and department

stores with floral cast-iron ornamentation. It also inspired

the magnificent glass designs of Louis Comfort Tiffany

(1848–1933). The son of Charles L. Tiffany, founder of the

famed New York jewelry house, Louis was a great admirer

of Chinesecloisonnésand ancient glass techniques. His

innovative studio methods included assembly-line produc-

tion, the use of templates, and the employment of female

artisans who received the same wages as males—a policy

that caused great controversy in Tiffany’s time. Tiffany’s

inventive art glass, which featured floral arabesques and

graceful geometric patterns, made him one of the masters

of the internationalArt Nouveaustyle (Figure 31.18).

Figure 31.18 TIFFANY GLASS AND DECORATING CO., Peacock vase,

1892–1902. Iridescent “favrile” glass, blues and greens with feather and

eye decorations, height 14^1 ⁄ 8 in. A student of ancient and medieval glass

practices, Tiffany patented in 1874 a way of mixing different colors of

heated glass to produce the iridescent art glass he called “favrile”

(a name derived from a Saxon word meaning “handmade”).

Figure 31.17 EUGÈNE GRASSET,

Comb, ca. 1900.^1 ⁄ 4  23 ⁄ 4 in.