Art Archive · Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau Gallery (Guide)
From the 1890s through the 1910s, decorative art flourished in Paris and beyond — curving lines, plant motifs, and advances in print technology turned posters and panels into urban art. In this gallery you can enjoy Lautrec’s nights and Mucha’s decorative line through a selection of public-domain images.
Works shown are digital reproductions of public-domain originals. They are not licensed or affiliated with the Mucha Foundation or similar organizations.
What is Art Nouveau?
Art Nouveau is a decorative style that spread across Europe from the 1890s through the 1910s. Plant-like curves, asymmetry, and advances in lithography turned posters into street-corner art. In Paris, Mucha’s theatre posters and Lautrec’s cabaret nights caught the era in two different kinds of line and color.
Print and decoration
These posters were less a painter’s unique hand than the product of print collaboration. Plate, color, and paper shaped the work; the street itself was the gallery. We present archival reproductions faithful to the originals — no color shifts, no cropping for a different composition.
Gallery guides
-
Posters & lithographs
Toulouse-Lautrec Gallery (Guide)
Moulin Rouge and cabaret nights. Follow 1890s Montmartre through flat color and fast line.
Open →
-
Decorative posters & panels
Mucha Gallery (Guide)
From Sarah Bernhardt theatre posters to commercial advertising and the Four Seasons. Art Nouveau in curve and the female figure.
Open →
Geometric decoration from the 1920s onward: Art Deco Corridor (coming soon) (planned).
FAQ
- What is Art Nouveau?
- A decorative style that spread across Europe from the 1890s through the 1910s. Plant-like curves, asymmetry, and advances in printing turned posters and decorative panels into part of the streetscape.
- How do Lautrec and Mucha differ?
- Lautrec captured cabaret life with flat color and fast lithographic line. Mucha idealized the female figure within ornamental curves for theatre and commercial posters. Both relied on print innovation.
- What about copyright?
- Works shown are digital reproductions of public-domain art. Institution credits appear on each work page. They are not licensed or endorsed by the Mucha Foundation or similar rights holders.
- How does this relate to Art Deco?
- Where Art Nouveau is a curving decorative language, Art Deco emerged from the 1920s as a more linear, geometric style. We plan to keep the two as separate corridors. When the Art Deco corridor opens, you will be able to move between the two galleries and follow the shift from curve to line.