The German American Heritage Center presents “Lush Beauties: Art Nouveau Jewelry" -- July 18.

Sunday, July 18, 2 p.m.

Presented by the German American Heritage Center

Beautiful colors, gorgeous designs, and objects of opulence will all be explored in the latest virtual presentation hosted by Davenport's German American Heritage Center, with Ann L. Koski's July 18 program Lush Beauties: Art Nouveau Jewelry examining famed jewelers such as Lalique, Louis Comfort Tiffany, and Liberty of London, as well as the intricacies of Germany's Jugendstil Art Nouveau movement.

Jugendstil, which translates to "youth style," was an artistic movement – particularly in the decorative arts – that was influential primarily in Germany and elsewhere in Europe from roughly 1895 to 1910. The German counterpart of Art Nouveau, its movement's members were reacting against the historicism and neo-classicism of the official art and architecture academies, and the style took its name from the art journal Jugend founded by German artist Georg Hirth. It was especially active in the graphic arts and interior decoration, and its major centers of activity were Munich, Weimar, and the Darmstadt Artists' Colony founded in Darmstadt in 1901.

Important figures of the movement included the Swiss graphic artist Hermann Obrist, Otto Eckmann, and the Belgian architect and decorator Henry van de Velde, and in its earlier years, the Jugendstil style was influenced by British Art Nouveau. It was also influenced by Japanese prints, and later, under the Secessionists' influence, it tended toward abstraction and more geometrical forms. In the beginning, the style was used primarily in illustrations and graphic arts, as Jugendstil combined floral decoration and sinuous curves with more geometric lines, and soon was used for covers of novels, advertisements, and exhibition posters. Designers also often created original styles of typeface that worked harmoniously with the image, such as the Arnold Böcklin typeface created in 1904.

Serving as presenter for the German American Heritage Center's July 18 program, Ann L. Koski is the retired director of the Wisconsin Historical Museum in Madison, and has been interested in and studying antique and costume jewelry for more than 30 years.

Koski's virtual program Lush Beauties: Art Nouveau Jewelry will be presented at 2 p.m. on July 18, participants will be sent an Eventbrite link in advance of the program, and donations to the free event are greatly appreciated. For more information, call (563)322-8844 and visit GAHC.org.

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