Nascence of Modernism in Rindskopf Jugendstil

When did modernism in art truly begin? The late 18th and early 19th centuries witnessed changing trends as rococo excesses began to be supplanted by neoclassicism. By the mid 19th century, popular tastes began to embrace the fussy romanticism of the Victorian era.

During the last two decades of the 19th century and into the era before the First World War, new styles began to arise that were influenced by nature, geometry, and the embrace of industrial technology. This became manifest in several movements in art: Jugendstil - known in some countries as Art Nouveau or the Craft Movement, Secessionism, and in the years between the World Wars, Art Deco.

This 12.25" vase was made by Josef Rindskopf Söhne over 100 years ago, but it looks very contemporary to modern eyes in many ways. The symmetry of a simple organic shape has been somewhat broken as the hot glass was twisted and tortured by the artisan. The base glass is a marbled effect of alternating irregular bands of deep red and amethyst glass, very nearly opaque. On the surface, a highly iridescent and extremely colorful metallic iridescent layer was skillfully applied. The effect varies based upon the angle, color temperature, and intensity of the lighting.

One can conclude that such an object includes elements of Jugendstil and Secessionist styles, and was certainly a precursor to the later geometry of the Deco era. A clean modern aesthetic was already well established over 100 years ago.