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exhibition features a wide selection of paintings, sculptures and art objects
presented in their day at the Art Nouveau gallery: from Chinese and Japanese shadows
that Bing introduced to Europe during his time as an importer of Asian art to
masterpieces in ceramic, glass and furniture that quickly became collector’s
items. Through this exceptional body of works, Art Nouveau. The Legacy of Siegfried
Bing reconstructs the career of this fascinating personality and explores his
influence on art at the turn of the century. In
1895, the art collector and dealer Sigfried Bing (1838-1905) opened a gallery
in Paris under the name of Art Nouveau. The works Bing displayed in it had such
an impact that the name of the establishment was adopted to designate the style
that marked a whole period. Bing
collected and helped to popularise Eastern art with enormous enthusiasm. He travelled
to China, Japan and India, acquiring art objects to sell in his shop. Through
such publications as Le Japon Artistique, the flat colour technique and decorative
style of Japanese prints began to become more widely known, exercising an important
influence on European artists. One of Bing’s clients was Vincent Van Gogh,
and the exhibition includes a series of prints by the great Dutch artist that
were, in their day, presented at Bing’s shop, Art Nouveau. At
the same time, Bing also established collections with some of the leading European
and American manufacturing companies to distribute their products. Glassware,
ceramic, metal objects and furniture blended harmoniously with the paintings and
sculptures in the gallery to create a unique ambience, a total artwork. Bing
promoted art galleries that presented works in the new Symbolist, Nabi, Neo-expressionist
and Puntillism styles. Amongst the artists whose work was shown at his gallery
were Jacques-Émile Blanche, Toulouse-Lautrec, Édouard Vuillard,
Félix Vallotton, József Rippl-Rónai and Santiago Rusiñol,
who achieved considerable success with his Jardins d’Espagne in 1903. The
movement to revive the applied arts found a great friend and supporter in Bing.
His Art Nouveau shop sold works from the English Arts & Crafts Movement, glassware
by the North American designer Tiffany, glass by Daum, furniture by Georges De
Freure and Gaillard, ceramic by Van de Velde and jewellery by Edward Colonna.
In an effort to support the production of quality objects for the wider public,
Bing helped to establish furniture, ceramic and jewellery workshops and studios. The
culminating moment in Sigfried Bing’s career was the 1900 Universal Exposition
in Paris. At it, the Art Nouveau Pavilion, designed by Eugène Gaillard,
Georges de Feure and Edward Colonna, enjoyed enormous success amongst the public,
and museums from all over the world acquired pieces from it.
Would
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Vase
The
theater box with the golden large mask, 1894
Boy
with owl, 1892
chair,
c.1899
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