Letters of Art Nouveau

Art Nouveau around the year 1900 wasn’t just for the wealthy: the flamboyant style also made its presence felt on the streets. In the exhibition ‘Letters of Art Nouveau’, the Allard Pierson shows how Art Nouveau dominated contemporary public space and commercial printing with hand-drawn letters adorning everything from posters to metro entrances. The brushstroke quality of the lettering betrays the influence of Japanese calligraphy.

These Art Nouveau letters were disseminated rapidly through handbooks for letter painters and lithographers, and through type specimens. Printers used these catalogues to order fonts at the time. Most of the rare material on display originates in France, Germany and the Netherlands.

When interest in Art Nouveau resurfaced in the 1960s, these striking fonts became popular among graphic designers again. Just like the Art Nouveau artists in their time, many 1960s designers sought to return to nature, and by embracing this lettering they distanced themselves from the establishment. Examples of this reuse of letters in a totally different context also feature in the exhibition.