With Art Nouveau there developed a new, international style under
various names in the architecture and handicrafts from the 1880s onwards
that sought to replace the forms of historicism with plant ornamentation
and functional construction. A comprehensive reform of the arts that
produced rich floral ornaments in Paris and Brussels, and became an
expression of national identity in Barcelona. This volume illuminates
the origins of this current and its manifestations in France, Belgium,
and Spain.