Across the Fence: Jugendstil

It never occurred to me that the German term Jugendstil (pronounce: ‘you-gant-shteel, i.e. youth style) might have made it into the English language. On the other hand, I knew that Art Deco was NOT the equivalent; neither was Nouveau Art.

When I was a child and teenager, one of my favorite books was a history one about the years of approximately 1850 through 1918, written by German historian Michael Freund and richly illustrated with paintings, lithographs, and photos. It was not about art history, but art illustrations certainly came in at one time or another. Funny enough, I never made the connection between the German magazine titled “Jugend” (youth) and an entire art epoch connected with it. I simply was able to discern Jugendstil from other epochs very early on since my mother was such an avid teacher in all kinds of fields.

I had to look up the magazine at Wikipedia, and found that it was actually published from 1896 through 1940, a bit later and way longer than I thought. It dealt with any work, 2-dimensional to 3-dimensional, created by young up-and-coming artists and artisans as well as (marginally) with literature, and it was widely read, not just by young people. Whereas it was very influential until 1933, it lost its independence of character afterwards when it was instrumentalized by the Third Reich.

Looking into what the art form of Jugendstil is, we have to look at the epoch of the Fin de Siècle, the end of the 19th century. It was supposed to bring some fresh air into the old art traditions but was also set against the “soulless” materials and structures of Industrialism, pretty much what Art Nouveau also did in the rest of Europe. Hence, we find a lot of naturalistic and almost romantic references in this art movement. On the other hand, it was so diverse that it is hard to find a description of a uniform kind of style. My great-grandfather Ernst Müller-Bernburg (1874-1945) was a renowned painter of the Jugendstil epoch, mostly specialized in landscapes; his style, for example, could be described as realistic with a touch of bold expressionism. There were other artists belonging to the movement with a totally different kind of style and different genres. “Decorative” might be the one adjective that connects all of the diverse creative arts and styles within the Jugendstil era.

When I’m looking at some “typical” illustrations from back then, though, I find a lot that was not really “nouveau”, novel. All these maidens with long hair and wistful glances had been around when the Pre-Raphaelites had their heyday, shortly before already. Symbolism, decorative borders, and Nature had always been a “thing” in the Arabic art-world, in Eastern Asia, and in the Greek and Roman ancient times. Yes, it was all modernized – but to call it novel?!

In the end, it might be hard to create anything really new without any reference to anything that hasn’t been existent in our past already. A slit through canvas was one of the most unusual pieces of art I ever came to see. Or a canvas painted entirely brown with the artist’s signature written directly from a tube of white paint. That was “new” art back in the 1980s. What’s art nouveau in its best sense, these days?

Jugendstil – I still think I know it when I see it in all its diversity. It’s playfulness and stylized shapes somehow still speak to us. And maybe that’s all that was intended.