I’m not certain why being shuttered up in my apartment has made me more interested in Art Nouveau than ever before, but it has. The graphic style that was once referred to as “floriated madness” may imply the madness I feel having been cooped up without flowers or greenery—the gift of spring that has been denied us for the past 30 days.
Last Friday I reproduced a collection of Stile Liberty/Art Nouveau Italian printing jewels. Today you can behold another collection: “Moderne Graphik,” of Austrian Secession/German Jugendstil/Art Nouveau borders and illustrations from one of the various Verlag von Frederick Wolfrum specimen portfolios published for printers and designers after the turn of the century (another example can be found here).
These separately printed plates were used by printers and advertising “designers” as models for their respective commercial work. Today they are not just artifacts but historical documents and templates for retro practice.
