World Art Nouveau Day Date in the current year: June 10, 2024

The term “Art Nouveau” originated in Belgium; its literal translation from French is “new art”. The style is known in different countries by different names, for example, Jugendstil (“youth style”) in Germany, Modern (“modern style”) in the Russian-speaking countries, Secession style in the former Austro-Hungarian Empire, Liberty style (after Arthur Lasenby Liberty, an English entrepreneur who helped popularize the style) in Italy, etc.

Art Nouveau originated in Britain in the 1880s. Among its main influences were the Pre-Raphaelites, the Arts and Crafts movement inspired by the floral designs of William Morris, and, interestingly, Japanese art and design that became popular in western Europe after the Meiji Restoration. The style developed further in Belgium and France, and from there, it spread to the rest of Europe, acquiring specific characteristics in each country.

The main objective of the Art Nouveau movement was to break down the traditional distinction between applied arts and fine arts, such as painting and sculpture. The style was widely used in graphic art, painting, glass art, ceramics and mosaics, textiles and wallpaper, furniture, jewelry, metal work, interior design, and architecture.

Although, as we’ve already mentioned above, the style had specific characteristics in each country, different variations of Art Noveau have some common features, such as a sense of movement and dynamism, natural forms, curving lines, and the use of modern materials (glass, iron, ceramics).

Art Nouveau began to gain popularity in the 1890s, reached its peak at the 1900 Paris Exposition (Exposition Universelle) and was largely exhausted by the outbreak of World War I. In the late 1960s, there was a revival of interest in Art Nouveau, and since then, the style has received a considerable amount of positive attention.

The inaugural World Art Nouveau Day was held on June 10, 2013. It was organized by the Museum of Applied Arts in Budapest and Szecessziós Magazin, a Hungarian magazine dedicated to Art Nouveau. The date of June 10 was chosen because it is the death anniversary of two famous representatives of the Art Nouveau movement who made a significant contribution to its development, Hungarian architect Ödön Lechner and Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí.

The World Art Nouveau Day events and activities are primarily coordinated by the Barcelona-based Art Nouveau European Route and the Brussels-based Réseau Art Nouveau Network. In 2019, the event was also supported by the platform European Heritage Alliance 3.3.

On the occasion of World Art Nouveau Day, cultural organizations across the world hold exhibitions, photo contests, lectures, guided tours and other events aimed at educating wide audiences about Art Nouveau and popularizing the style. Every year, the organizers choose a new theme: for example, the 2019 World Art Nouveau Day focused on staircases, while the 2020 theme was stained-glass artwork.