THE GLORY OF ART NOUVEAU IN LYON

Lyon has some breath taking examples of Art Nouveau: including architecture, interiors, furniture and objets d’art. I had the privilege of experiencing glorious art nouveau in two spaces. One was the Villa Lumière and the other was amongst the collection of the Musée des Beaux Arts which included a full suite of bedroom furniture of the period.

Visiting the Villa Lumière (Musée Lumière), for me, was as much about the interior design of the former Lumière Reidence as it was about the museum theme.

The Villa Lumière was built between 1899-1902. Externally the architecture didn’t have a particular impact on me, but the second I stepped inside my jaw dropped. It makes sense that I had contrasting reactions to the exterior and interior because the designers and craftsmen involved in the interior of the Villa are unrelated to the architects who designed the villa, who were not involved in the interior architecture and design.

The interior is quintessential, golden Art Nouveau at its very best. Just as striking as the various features are themselves is the immaculate condition it is all in today. I was stunned at the pristine condition of all the features which are well over 100 years old.

The features ranged from stained glass, carpentry, ceramics, metalwork, textiles and more. This aspect of art nouveau, which I have experienced in my life from Mackintosh to Gaudi, where all mediums of design are used and implemented into the architecture and treated with equal attention to design and detail is something I feel lacks in contemporary design and hence something I really treasure from that period. The sheer range of materials used creates so much richness in the experience of the space and the amount of love that has gone into each feature from the associated craftsman designer just radiates into these space like magic. Each feature stands alone and yet harmonises with the other elements without overbearing one another.

These spaces become a dialogue and dance of the best of artistic aptitude creating a silent triumph of humanity’s creative abilities.

You are greeted by a very impressive large scale coq carved out of wood at the base of the balustrade; the rooster being a French symbol of historic significance referencing amongst other things the French revolution.

This flight of stairs leads to a balcony on a landing in front of a spectacular stained glass window and the entire staircase area is surrounded by hand painted wall paper.

The first ground floor space we entered was the sun room overlooking the gardens which was astonishing. A feature I loved was a series of ceramic peacocks adorning the ceiling, where the feathers’ “eyes” where replaced with light bulbs creating one of the most imaginative lighting designs I have seen.

All the metalwork in this space was incredibly detailed, notably the windows’ opening levers, hinges and so on.

The flooring throughout the villa ranged from floral ceramic tiles to intricate, geometric parquet.

Many spaces were also adorned with delightful ceramic tiles, my favourite being the master bedroom fireplace that had a series of square butterfly tiles set at a diamond angle.

The master bedroom also had wall paper decoration but here it was silk screen printed not hand painted.

In the Musée des Beaux Arts I saw more exquisite art nouveau. The most notable examples being those by Hector Guimard, namely a full suite of bedroom furniture and curtain rod support brackets (dating 1909-1912) from the Guimard Hotel. I particularly loved the design details of the dressing table and the curtain rod supports.

The way that Art Nouveau inspiration is rooted in nature and Japanese art, thus creating designs that somehow imitate tree branches and trunks, foliage and so on in the most elegant way with swirling motion and sensuality of form, conveying an illusion of layers and folds, whilst being perfectly functional and practical in its design and use of space, is something exceptional.