This thesis is a study of the Louis Comfort Tiffany’s Art and the Americanism. Most of preceeding researches focused on defining Louis Tiffany as an American Art Nouveau glass artist. Curiously, his most typical design styles were eclecticism and realistic naturalism, and these styles were different from the European Art Nouveau style. Therefore, Louis Tiffany must not to be considered only as an Art Nouveau artist anymore. Hence, purpose of this study is to clarify Louis Tiffany’s stylistic differences through ‘Americanism’.
In the late 19th Century, Americanism used to be a word defining United States’ national identity by the Theodore Roosevelt. He argued that to realize Americanization, Americans must to invent new models differentiated from the Europeans. Art critics regarded Americanism as a cultural doctrine to be independent of European art tradition. So American artists pursued originality and individuality to be differentiated from the European art, then Americanized art. So I’ll consider how the Americanism influenced on the Louis Tiffany’s Art.
At the 1900 Paris Exposition Universelle, American Government decided to show that United States can create one’s own national art. To demonstrate Americaness, U.S. Commissioner John Britton Cauldwell mainly selected domestic artists’ landscape paintings for American fine art exhibition. After 1900, these artists and their American landscape paintings recognized as the “American School”. At this Exposition, Louis Tiffany exhibited many of natural landscape depicting stained glass windows as like as the American School paintings do. And these were leaded glass windows that disusing traditional enamel painting. All the Louis Tiffany’s windows and blown glass objects made of his unique patented opalescent glass, named “Favrile glass”. European judges and critics recognized his art as the original American Art, so he won two grand prizes and many medals. Then American Press reported Tiffany’s prize-winning as the symbol of glory that American art was internationally recognized.
Louis Tiffany inspired from English Aestheticism and Arts & Crafts Movement. As an Aesthete-artist, he always pursued for representing natural color-light effect in art. So he constantly tried scientific experimentation and invented new art medium. In consequence, Favrile glass and painted enameling would be invented. That would be recognized as an expression of his individuality and originality differentiated from the contemporary European art, even Art Nouveau. And he also want to be differentiated with the European styles.
At first, Louis Tiffany tried to show the American national character through eclecticism. Eclecticism was the one of common traits of American School paintings with the native natural landscape theme. He mixed Western & Oriental arts or synthesized Japonisme design’s natural theme with American native species, for creating more differentiated design from the European Art Nouveau-Japonisme style. Then Louis Tiffany found another new way to create original American style. Because of American people likes illustrated images of American native nature. To develop his own unique American style, Louis Tiffany attempted to depicting native natural landscape pictorially in leaded glass windows, enamel-on-copper works, Jewelry. Through this study, It was revealed that Tiffany’s natural landscape designs resembled with the American Pre-Raphaelites’ natural studies and the Hudson River School’s landscape paintings. Such designs could be regarded as examples of the authentic American style and the Louis Tiffany’s art works. He also developed decorative media and designs artistically, so he was capable to be recognized as the pioneer of American Arts & Crafts and artistic design. Therefore, It could be said that Americanism was the Louis Tiffany’s artistic motive and goal either.