Art Nouveau 1900

Art nouveau is often characterized as the art of the end of an era -  Fin de siècle. The rich collections of the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague offer a different view, presenting Art Nouveau as a revolutionary artistic movement that sought a close connection with everyday life. And life at the turn of the twentieth century was dynamic, modern and rapidly changing.

Émile Gallé (1846-1904) was one of the primary figures of Art Nouveau in France. His work influenced a great many glass manufactures, especially the Daum Fréres firm in Nancy, as well as the production of the Harrach Glassworks in Nový Svět (Neuwelt) and the Johann Lötz Witwe Glassworks in Klášterský Mlýn (Klostermühle), which was one of the most avant-garde glass producers on the Old Continent. 

Although Art Nouveau initially sought a return to traditional craftsmanship, the industry did not give in and responded quickly to the stylistic transformation. In 1900, the thriving German foundry WMF expanded its reach into Austria, where it took over the AK & Cie brand and soon became the number one producer of Metalware. 

The Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague, founded in 1885, has always collected the finest examples of contemporary art. At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, the largest acquisition of Art Nouveau art was a gift of exhibits from the 1900 World Exhibition in Paris - works by Jan Preisler, Alfons Mucha, Josef Fanta, Jan Kotěra and others. In the first decades of the 20th century, the museum collected mainly Art Nouveau glass; in the 1960s, the Art Nouveau collections were processed and expanded by numerous acquisitions, which continue to the present day.

The Art Nouveau collections of the UPM were presented in the exhibition Vital Art Nouveau 1900 in 2013 at the Municipal House, Prague's most beautiful Art Nouveau building.