Normandy, Brittany & the Best of the North_ With Paris (Fodor's) - Fodor's [85]
One of its founding centers was Nancy, which at the time was drawing the wealthy French bourgeoisie of Alsace, recently invaded by Germany, who refused to become German. Proud of their opulence, they had sublime houses built that were entirely furnished, from simple vases and wrought-iron beds to bathtubs in the shape of lily pads, all in the pure Art Nouveau style. All of Nancy paid homage to this style.
Everywhere stylized flowers became the preferred motif. The tree and its leaves, and plants with their flowers, were modified, folded and curled to the artist’s demand. Among the main Art Nouveau emblems figure the lily, the iris, morning glory, bracken fern, poppies, peacocks, birds that feed on flowers, ivy, dragonflies, butterflies, and anything that evokes the immense poetry of the seasons. It reveals a world that is as fragile as it is precious.
By giving an artistic quality to manufactured objects, the creators of the École de Nancy accomplished a dream that had been growing since the romantic generation of Victorian England of making an alliance between art and industry. This was a major advance on the bourgeois bad taste for mass-produced imitations inspired by styles of the past. Nancy’s great strength was in this collaboration of art and industry.
Among the École de Nancy’s most outstanding contributors was Émile Gallé, who worked primarily in glass inventing new, patented techniques, and who brought luxury craftsmanship to a whole range of everyday products, thus reestablishing the link between the ordinary and the exceptional.
As a meeting point for the hopes and interests of artists, intellectuals, industrials, and merchants, the École de Nancy was a thoroughly global phenomenon. From Chicago to Turin, Munich to Brussels, and on to London, the industries of Nancy went on to conquer the world.
TOP ATTRACTIONS IN ART NOUVEAU NANCY
Musée de l’École de Nancy (School of Nancy Museum).
The only museum in France devoted to Art Nouveau is housed in an airy turn-of-the-last-century garden–town house. It was built by Eugène Corbin, an early patron of the School of Nancy. Re-created rooms and original works of art by local Art Nouveau stars Gallé, Daum, Muller, and Walter all allure. Gallé (1846–1904) was the engine that drove the whole Art Nouveau movement. He called upon artists to resist the imperialism of Paris, follow examples in nature (not those of Greece or Rome), and use a variety of techniques and materials. Many of their gorgeous artifacts are on view here. | 36 rue du Sergent-Blandan, Quartier Art-Nouveau | 54000 | 03–83–40–14–86 | www.ecole-de-nancy.com | €6, €7.50 joint ticket with Musée des Beaux-Arts | Wed.–Sun. 10–6.
Villa Majorelle.
This villa was built in 1902 by Paris architect Henri Sauvage for Majorelle himself. Sinuous metal supports seem to sneak up on the unsuspecting balcony like swaying cobras, and there are two grand windows by Gruber: one lighting the staircase (visible from the street) and the other set in the dining room on the south side of the villa (peek around from the garden side). | 1 rue Louis-Majorelle, Quartier Art-Nouveau | 54000.
WORTH NOTING IN ART NOUVEAU NANCY
Avenue Foch.
This busy boulevard lined with mansions was built for Nancy’s affluent 19th-century middle class. At No. 69, the occasional pinnacle suggests Gothic influence on a house built in 1902 by Émile André, who designed the neighboring No. 71 two years later. No. 41, built by Paul Charbonnier in 1905, bears ironwork by Majorelle. | Quartier Art-Nouveau | 54000.
Brasserie l’Excelsior.
This bustling brasserie has a severely rhythmic facade that is invitingly illuminated at night. Inside, the popular restaurant’s fin-de-siècle decor continues to evoke the Belle Époque. | Corner