Art Nouveau was an international style of art, architecture and design that peaked between 1880 and 1914 and flourished throughout Eastern and Western Europe, the United States, and Spain (especially in Barcelona with the work of architect Antoni Gaudí.)
Art Nouveau obtained the nickname, Le style nouilles, that is, ¨the noodle style,¨ due to its flat, curved, undulating designs and use of hyperbolas and parabolas. These decorative patterns were often intertwined with nature-inspired motifs like birds, plants, flowers, seaweed, grasses and insects.
This movement in many ways was a response to the Industrial Revolution. Artists embraced new industrial technology and materials in their use of iron and glass while others deplored the shoddiness of mass-produced machine-made goods. These artists therefore sought to apply craftsmanship and design to everyday objects, bringing beauty to architecture, graphic design, advertising posters, furniture, metalwork, textiles and so forth.