The Influence Of Art In World War One

I believe that World War One was the final nail in the coffin not only for Art Nouveau but also some other styles of art and literature during this time. World War One, also known as the Great War during 1914 till 1918 tilted culture on its side, particularly in Europe and the United States. In these four years alone nearly 9 million people died and millions more were maimed or psychologically scarred especially in Europe where most of the fighting took place (7). World War I is considered by some to be the first man-made catastrophe of the twentieth century and was caused by growing tensions between the European countries because of militarism, alliances, imperialism, and fierce nationalism. Obviously the beautiful, flowery Art Nouveau style

The sheer loss of life that the people in World War One experienced in such a short period of time was something dreadfully new and unprecedented during this time. Their was a loss of innocence among the public especially in Europe, which changed people’s view about culture and art. The wonderful optimism that filled the previous decades was quickly abandoned and a discouraging, pessimistic outlook on life was adopted after people had experienced the sheer brutality of new warfare. There was no longer any concept of guaranteed peace after a war this horrible, as soldiers returned from the battlefields the harsh reality they faced was now all they knew. Many artists also participated in the war and whether of not they actually survived, their art was certainly changed because of what they had seen on the battlefield. The high cost of production, Bing’s death and the horrible atrocities that occurred in World War One saw the end of the Art Nouveau style, especially in Europe, but it wasn’t necessarily gone, instead evolving into a new

Artists all over the world are using the old Art Nouveau ideas like the curvy lines, various floral elements, and the characteristic colors as inspiration for a new modern art style. The style is even considered as an important bridge between Neoclassicism and modernism even though it only such a short time. Famous buildings and other monuments created in this movement are also now recognized by UNESCO with their World Heritage List as significant contributions to cultural heritage allowing the building to live on and not be torn down (6). This is certainly the case with Art Nouveau since it seems to have been reevaluated starting back during the sixties with “hippie” art, and then with the rise of postmodernism design. Sixties Psychedelic Art parallels Art Nouveau a lot in its form, especially when you look at the sixties art with the long noodle like lines and curvy forms. As the decades continued, the popular style kept changing and changing to reflect the mood of the times and how people viewed their world. I think that now a days Art Nouveau has become so popular with my generation because we grew up surrounded by optimism and not a lot of negativity of fear really until September 11 occurred. I also think that Art Nouveau is a very interesting art style for young artists to understand and explore because it was the first