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The Neverending Spirals of the Art Nouveau Movement

National Day of Romania

The spiral motif entered my life a few years ago, by the time I was still in high school. I don’t remember exactly how it happened, but suddenly I started drawing almost nothing but spirals or curvy lines as if it had become a kind of automatism. Whenever I was facing a kind of surface, be it paper, a corner of a table or even clothes, I seemed to be automatically drawing spiral motifs and abstract curvy shapes.

At no time have I denied this tendency I had, but I have been practising it and I started to give it a personal sense. This is how the spiral became a leitmotif of my personality and every complex of thoughts and emotions, whenever I would express it through drawing, the drawing would be constituted by spiralling movements and fluid, curved lines. In this sense, I’ve created many artistic works. Even the high school attestation work turned out to be an abstract embodiment of the complex of emotions I was feeling at the time — an abstraction in the shape of multiple spirals. I like to interpret the spiral motifs as actually the dynamics of the soul. It is my favourite way of visually describing what I feel or experience, even if in the eyes of others it is most likely to appear meaningless.

Spirals Throughout the Art Nouveau Movement

Throughout history, one of the artistic movements that most adopted this kind of undulating tendency in terms of drawing is Art Nouveau. This artistic manifestation’s essence is predominantly based on ornamentation and it is has been present thanks to artists who have embraced nature as their muse. All these decorative motifs were created in the artists’ attempt to imitate nature’s character and so-to-say behaviour, thus creating artistic works with a free yet elegant, delicate yet energizing air. Personally, from the first moment I started studying art and design history, I fell unconditionally in love with this artistic movement. It didn’t matter what the work actually represented or what the poster actually advertised because visually, all those ornamental motifs made me feel indescribably comfortable and peaceful.

Spirals and Curvy Lines in Personal Terms

Art Nouveau has been an inspirational source from the very first time I discovered it. I sometimes think that it has inspired me many times even unconsciously. However, I don’t usually adopt this system of representation nowadays when I design, but rather when I draw for pleasure. I draw using curved lines and spirals then when it comes to personal matters, to create art in order to express something intimate or to make me feel better if I am having a bad time. I could say that I use this kind of artistic representation system because it has a therapeutic function for me. You can see some personal artwork related to what I’m talking about by visiting the following link.

Here is a small selection of some of my favourite artworks representative for the Art Nouveau movement that I have picked up from the book Treasury of Art Nouveau Design & Ornamentation (1980).

Figure 252 | The Neverending Spiral of the Art Nouveau Movement

Grafton, C. B. (1980). Treasury of Art Nouveau Design & Ornament. Dover Publications.

For those who are passionate about this artistic current, I encourage you to purchase this book. I am also open to suggestions in case you have any related recommendations for me. Just drop me a line in the comment box found at the bottom of the page.

I hope these artworks inspire you as much as they inspire me. Or I hope that at least you’ll feel like you have delighted your eyes with something beautiful.

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