Art Nouveau (Graphic) vs Vienna Secession Graphics

Vienna Secession Graphics evolved from Art Nouveau (Graphic) — the Viennese, increasingly geometric turn of the Art Nouveau poster.

Alphonse Mucha — JOB cigarette papers poster (1896)

Art Nouveau (Graphic)

The poster and print language of the Belle Époque — sinuous 'whiplash' line, idealized women wreathed in flowers and flowing hair, ornamental borders, and hand-drawn lettering fused into a single decorative whole.

  • Sinuous 'whiplash' lines and organic plant/vine motifs
  • Idealized female figures framed by flowing hair and flowers
  • Hand-drawn lettering integrated with the illustration
  • Decorative borders, halos, and arabesque framing devices
  • Flat, muted lithographic colour — gold, ochre, sage, rose
Full Art Nouveau (Graphic) guide →
Gustav Klimt — poster for the 1st Vienna Secession exhibition (1898)

Vienna Secession Graphics

The graphic output of the Vienna Secession and Wiener Werkstätte, marrying gridded geometric ornament to gilded, Klimt-era pattern, custom square lettering, and the near-square journal Ver Sacrum.

  • Geometric gridded ornament and checkerboards
  • Custom geometric display lettering
  • Near-square Ver Sacrum format
  • Gilded flat decorative pattern fields
  • Generous, structured white space
Full Vienna Secession Graphics guide →

At a glance

Art Nouveau (Graphic)Vienna Secession Graphics
Era1890–19101897–1920
DisciplineGraphic DesignGraphic Design
RegionFrance, Austria, Belgium, United StatesAustria
FamilyArt Nouveau, Belle ÉpoqueArt Nouveau, Secession
Formal traitsorganic-line, ornamental, hand-letteredgeometric-ornament, custom-lettering, flat-color, gridded

More comparisons

Advertisement