Holland on Paper in the Age of Art Nouveau

From the 1890s through the turn of the century, there was a flourishing of imaginative art and craft throughout Europe that we now know as Art Nouveau. The Netherlands experienced an inventive variant of this art and design phenomenon, but until now it has been largely overshadowed by its counterparts in other countries, especially France. This richly illustrated book is the first in English to celebrate the Dutch contribution to Art Nouveau through a tour of more than one hundred works on paper – posters, decorative calendars, illustrated books, as well as prints and drawings. These innovative works of graphic design reveal the progressive Dutch artists’ conscious reaction against the past, their inspiration in natural forms and exotic cultures, and their embrace of the principle that art should transform everyday life. It also shows how the New Art, Nieuwe Kunst in Dutch, coexisted and sometimes intertwined in the Netherlands with other artistic strands, including persistent realist trends, Symbolism and the emergence of Modernism. With an introduction and explanatory text about each work of art by Clifford S. Ackley, one of the world’s leading specialists of Dutch prints and drawings, Holland on Paper provides a fascinating and visually rewarding introduction to a rich and creative artistic era.

Winner of the IDPF Book Award