What was Art Nouveau influenced by?

Gorgeous antique metal money bank. A beautiful decorative item in metal with a lock. Made in Austria, circa 1880s or older. Nice addition to any collection, desktop, living room or c...

Jugendstil Thonet brown beech shoe stool was designed circa 1907 and executed by Gebr. Thonet Vienna attributed to Josef Hoffmann. A gorgeous Jugendstil sho...

“Heroine” by Theophile Francois Somme is a dramatic and richly detailed Art Nouveau sculpture in bronze and chryselephantine created, circa 1920. This exceptional piece has finely carved facial features and wonderful use of patinated bronze to create the sweep of fabric. The statue sits on a carved marble base. Somme was born in Nancy in 1871, lived until 1952 and was a frequent participant in the Parisian Salon des Artistes. He won the Gold Medal at the salon in 1924, a silver medal in 1925 and in 1937 he was awarded the Gold Medal at the Paris Exposition Internationale. Today his work can be viewed at the Toulon...

Vintage Georg Jensen sterling silver tazza compote with grape motif. This fabulous Georg Jensen sterling silver tazza features Jensen's iconic grape motif, a celebrated range of pieces which were inspired by the Art Nouveau aesthetic coupled with time the artist spent traveling in Italy. Georg Jensen was born in 1866 and trained as a sculptor at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, graduating in 1892. Jensen began his artistic career in ceramics and started working with silver in 1904. He went on to establish his own smithy in Copenhagen and like many others working during the Art Nouveau period, was strongly influenced by natural forms and structure found in flowers and plants. As mentioned above, Jensen spent time in Italy shortly after the turn of the century and developed an appreciation for ancient Roman silver work. He was also struck by the work of more recent Italian artists and was particularly influenced by those pieces which drew upon classical mythology, such as Baroque painter Caravaggio's 'Bacchus'. Jensen combined these influences with emerging Art Nouveau organic motifs, leading him to utilize the malleable qualities of silver to create his renowned Grape Collection. This form of this silver tazza was initially designed by Jensen in 1918. The piece has a round pedestal foot which rises to a thick columnar stem reminiscent of the twisting trunk...

An impressive set of Kralik vases with a bottle shape and marbled designs with an opalescent colors, rounded base, tall slender neck with acup shaped top. The iridescent glass vases are decorated with brown/red and white swirled designs originating from the bottom of the vase. The vases belong to the same series by Wilhelm Kralik...

Solid cast brass with polished finish. A company that has always attributed such great importance to the author of the designs could never forget the great figures in history. That is why the BD catalogue of contemporary creations has always included those by admired classical masters. Antoni Gaudí (1852/1926) is, without doubt, the most internationally well-known Spanish architect. But is not only his buildings and brilliant architectural solutions that have travelled the globe. His integrated conception of architecture led him to pay attention, not only to structural calculations, but also to all the decorative elements, including furniture, that would form part of the building. The admiration felt by modern designers for the furniture designed by Gaudí has not gone unnoticed by BD which was the first company to rescue them from history by embarking on their serial production using...