art nouveau

[ ahrt noo-voh, ahr; French ar-noo-voh ]

noun

, (often initial capital letters)

1. a style of fine and applied art current in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, characterized chiefly by curvilinear motifs often derived from natural forms.

Art Nouveau

/ ɑː nuːˈvəʊ; ar nuvo /

noun

1. 1. a style of art and architecture of the 1890s, characterized by swelling sinuous outlines and stylized natural forms, such as flowers and leaves
   2. ( as modifier )

      an Art-Nouveau mirror

Word History and Origins

Origin of art nouveau¹

1900–05; < French: literally, new art

Word History and Origins

Origin of art nouveau¹

French, literally: new art

Example Sentences

An art nouveau treasure, this building boasts an extraordinary Tiffany ceiling that you may want to stare at your entire vacation.

From Ozy

These have the pared-down, Pre-Modernist look of Art Nouveau.

From The Daily Beast

The façade bore all the trendy trappings of the Art Nouveau movement that swept across the European continent.

From The Daily Beast

They turned slowly and gave the Art Nouveau building a suddenly contemporary appeal.

From The Daily Beast

Mucha, the son of the iconic Art Nouveau poster artist Alphonse Mucha, was a man with a lot of secrets to keep.

From The Daily Beast

Stunned, Margaret did not move from the best parlour, over which the touch of art nouveau had fallen.

From Project Gutenberg

Art nouveau furniture, no heavy rugs or draperies, metallic bedsteads, and hot and cold running water in every room.

From Project Gutenberg

Full-color reproduction of Combinaisons ornementales (c. 1900) by Art Nouveau masters.

From Project Gutenberg

It belongs to a wealthy Mexican who was seduced, however, by art nouveau.

From Project Gutenberg

It is as though your old family portrait of the Colonial Governor was framed in “art nouveau.”

From Project Gutenberg