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Art Nouveau Chaise Longues

ART NOUVEAU STYLE

In its sinuous lines and flamboyant curves inspired by the natural world, antique Art Nouveau furniture reflects a desire for freedom from the stuffy social and artistic strictures of the Victorian era. The Art Nouveau movement developed in the decorative arts in France and Britain in the early 1880s and quickly became a dominant aesthetic style in Western Europe and the United States.

ORIGINS OF ART NOUVEAU FURNITURE DESIGN

CHARACTERISTICS OF ART NOUVEAU FURNITURE DESIGN

  • Sinuous, organic and flowing lines
  • Forms that mimic flowers and plant life
  • Decorative inlays and ornate carvings of natural-world motifs such as insects and animals 
  • Use of hardwoods such as oak, mahogany and rosewood

ART NOUVEAU FURNITURE DESIGNERS TO KNOW

ANTIQUE ART NOUVEAU FURNITURE ON 1STDIBS

Art Nouveau — which spanned furniture, architecture, jewelry and graphic design — can be easily identified by its lush, flowing forms suggested by flowers and plants, as well as the lissome tendrils of sea life. Although Art Deco and Art Nouveau were both in the forefront of turn-of-the-20th-century design, they are very different styles — Art Deco is marked by bold, geometric shapes while Art Nouveau incorporates dreamlike, floral motifs. The latter’s signature motif is the "whiplash" curve — a deep, narrow, dynamic parabola that appears as an element in everything from chair arms to cabinetry and mirror frames.

The visual vocabulary of Art Nouveau was particularly influenced by the soft colors and abstract images of nature seen in Japanese art prints, which arrived in large numbers in the West after open trade was forced upon Japan in the 1860s. Impressionist artists were moved by the artistic tradition of Japanese woodblock printmaking, and Japonisme — a term used to describe the appetite for Japanese art and culture in Europe at the time — greatly informed Art Nouveau. 

The Art Nouveau style quickly reached a wide audience in Europe via advertising posters, book covers, illustrations and other work by such artists as Aubrey Beardsley, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Alphonse Mucha. While all Art Nouveau designs share common formal elements, different countries and regions produced their own variants.

In Scotland, the architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh developed a singular, restrained look based on scale rather than ornament; a style best known from his narrow chairs with exceedingly tall backs, designed for Glasgow tea rooms. Meanwhile in France, Hector Guimard — whose iconic 1896 entry arches for the Paris Metro are still in use — and Louis Majorelle produced chairs, desks, bed frames and cabinets with sweeping lines and rich veneers. 

The Art Nouveau movement was known as Jugendstil ("Youth Style") in Germany, and in Austria the designers of the Vienna Secession group — notably Koloman Moser, Josef Hoffmann and Joseph Maria Olbrich — produced a relatively austere iteration of the Art Nouveau style, which mixed curving and geometric elements.

Art Nouveau revitalized all of the applied arts. Ceramists such as Ernest Chaplet and Edmond Lachenal created new forms covered in novel and rediscovered glazes that produced thick, foam-like finishes. Bold vases, bowls and lighting designs in acid-etched and marquetry cameo glass by Émile Gallé and the Daum Freres appeared in France, while in New York the glass workshop-cum-laboratory of Louis Comfort Tiffany — the core of what eventually became a multimedia decorative-arts manufactory called Tiffany Studios — brought out buoyant pieces in opalescent favrile glass. 

Jewelry design was revolutionized, as settings, for the first time, were emphasized as much as, or more than, gemstones. A favorite Art Nouveau jewelry motif was insects (think of Tiffany, in his famed Dragonflies glass lampshade).

Like a mayfly, Art Nouveau was short-lived. The sensuous, languorous style fell out of favor early in the 20th century, deemed perhaps too light and insubstantial for European tastes in the aftermath of World War I. But as the designs on 1stDibs demonstrate, Art Nouveau retains its power to fascinate and seduce.

There are ways to tastefully integrate a touch of Art Nouveau into even the most modern interior — browse an extraordinary collection of original antique Art Nouveau furniture on 1stDibs, which includes decorative objects, seating, tables, garden elements and more.

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Style: Art Nouveau
1 Seater - Raka x Shirwani
Located in Cape Girardeau, MO
A single-seater chair designed and produced by Raka Studio and finished in collaboration with Hamza Khan Shirwani. Made in solid ashwood by bending wood....
Category

2010s Asian Art Nouveau Chaise Longues

Materials

Bentwood, Paint

Gebruder Thonet Bentwood Rocking Chaise Lounge Chair
Located in Chicago, IL
Gebruder Thonet bentwood rocking chaise lounge chair Scarcely seen model no. 7500. Designed 1880-1883. This model appears to be stamped JJ...
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20th Century Art Nouveau Chaise Longues

Materials

Wood

French Rattan Chaise Longue with Orange and Red Stripes, circa 1900
Located in Philadelphia, PA
A French rattan Chaise Longue with orange and red stripes, and adjustable back, circa 1900.
Category

Early 1900s French Antique Art Nouveau Chaise Longues

Materials

Rattan

Art Nouveau, Pair of Lounge Chairs in Oak, Reupholstered in Style Fabric, 1920s
Located in Odense, DK
Rare pair of sculptural lounge chairs / armchairs in solid oak, reupholstered in royal style fabric. Made by a Danish cabinetmaker in the early 1900s. These beautiful vintage chairs...
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Early 20th Century Danish Art Nouveau Chaise Longues

Materials

Fabric, Oak

Gebruder Thonet Bentwood Rocking Chaise Longue, 1880-1883
Located in Sharon, CT
Classic and famous version of the bentwood (beech) chair by Thonet, Vienna 1880-1883. Stained bent beech, original surface. Old if not original caneing. Rarer and more beautiful with...
Category

Late 19th Century Austrian Antique Art Nouveau Chaise Longues

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Bentwood

Pair of Mid-Century Modern Italian Liberty Style Leather Armchairs, 1950s
Located in Puglia, Puglia
Pair of armchairs made in the 1950s, in genuine leather and carved poplar wood, with liberty motifs.
Category

1950s Italian Vintage Art Nouveau Chaise Longues

Materials

Leather, Poplar

Ecole de Nancy, Art Nouveau Oak Chaise Longue
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Ecole de Nancy, Art Nouveau oak chaise longue.
Category

Early 1900s French Antique Art Nouveau Chaise Longues

Materials

Oak

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Distinctive Steel Chaise Longue
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Upholstered Daybed Chaise Longues
Located in Sheffield, MA
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Late 19th Century Antique Art Nouveau Chaise Longues

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Upholstered Daybed Chaise Longues
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Art Deco Lounge Chairs in Oak & Reupholstered in Bouclé Fabric France '40s
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French Chaise Longue Louis XVI
Located in New York, NY
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French Chaise Longue Louis XVI
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Adrian Pearsall Chaise Lounge Rocker Newly Upholstered in Soft Peruvian Alpaca
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Biedermeier Chaise Longue
Located in GDYNIA, 22
We offer the Biedermeier (original) Chaise Longue for sale in very good condition!  
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Early 19th Century Antique Art Nouveau Chaise Longues

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Biedermeier Chaise Longue
Biedermeier Chaise Longue
H 42.52 in W 86.62 in D 29.53 in
Unique yellow chaise longue, Northern Europe, circa 1900
Located in Chorzów, PL
Unique chaise longue, Northern Europe, circa 1900s Very good condition. After renovation of the wood and replacement of the upholstery with a new one Dimensions: height 95 cm / sea...
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Early 1900s Swedish Antique Art Nouveau Chaise Longues

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Sleeper Brown Chaise Longue
Located in Paris, FR
Chaise longue sleeper brown all in brown natural rattan with rocking feet.
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21st Century and Contemporary French Art Nouveau Chaise Longues

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Sleeper Brown Chaise Longue
Sleeper Brown Chaise Longue
H 30.32 in W 63.78 in D 24.41 in
21st Century Cotton Velvet Nancy Chaise Longue Walnut Wood
Located in RIO TINTO, PT
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Antique French Chaise Longue Daybed in Walnut and Velvet
Located in Leicester, GB
This is a handsome example of an antique French hand-carved chaise longue in Walnut. The chaise longue is upholstered in thick velvet, which is an earthy green, khaki color. The trimmings and piping are in creamy white to give the seat definition. The seat has been re-upholstered professionally fairly recently and is very clean (see images). The chaise lounge...
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19th Century French Antique Art Nouveau Chaise Longues

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Chaise Lounge
Located in Southampton, NJ
This chaise lounge is a beautiful piece of Art! And, an Art piece is what I'm calling it. Strong and sturdy yet not the most comfortable chaise out there. I can imagine this piece ju...
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1990s Unknown Art Nouveau Chaise Longues

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Chaise Lounge
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Antique Chaise Longue by Michael Thonet for Thonet Model 9702, 1920s
Located in HEVERLEE, BE
Antique bentwood chaise longue by Michael Thonet for Thonet Wien. This is found in Thonet catalogues from 1914 and earlier. The chair has an adjustable backrest. 1920s, Aust...
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1920s Austrian Vintage Art Nouveau Chaise Longues

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Cane, Bentwood

Michael Thonet Art Nouveau Austria Coffee Chair Nr.4 for Thonet, 1890s
Located in Puglia, Puglia
This chair was created by Michael Thonet for Thonet in 1890. Produced in curved beech. It has been recently restored and has a new eco-leather covering.
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1880s Austrian Antique Art Nouveau Chaise Longues

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Faux Leather, Beech

1920 French Bottle Green Jacquard Velvet and Velour’s Piano Stripe Chaise Lounge
Located in Silvolde, Gelderland
An extremely beautiful sofa / chaise lounge. This chaise lounge is reupholstered with green jacquard (Uasbrenner) velvet and a black and white stripe in chenille fabric. The back o...
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Adjustable Chaise Lounge by Thonet
Located in Pawtucket, RI
Adjustable chaise lounge in stained beechwood. Manufactured by Gebrüder Thonet. Vienna, Austria, circa late 19th-early 20th century. This mode...
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Late 19th Century Austrian Antique Art Nouveau Chaise Longues

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Brass

Adjustable Chaise Lounge by Thonet
Adjustable Chaise Lounge by Thonet
H 35.5 in W 78 in D 27.75 in
Antique Saltertini Fancy Wrought Iron Art Nouveau Reclining Chaise Lounge Chair
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Antique Saltertini fancy wrought iron Art Nouveau reclining chaise lounge chair. Item features reclining back, rear wheels, wrought iron ...
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20th Century American Art Nouveau Chaise Longues

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Wrought Iron

Rocking Chaise Longue Gebruder Thonet Nr.7500, circa 1880
Located in Praha, CZ
Manufactured in Austria by the Gebrüder Thonet Company. The oldest known display of these extremely rare lounge is on a poster from the Paris World Exhibition in 1878. In that time w...
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Late 19th Century Austrian Antique Art Nouveau Chaise Longues

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Bentwood

Thonet Adjustable Bentwood Chaise Longue
Located in Essex, MA
A Thonet bentwood chaise longue in mahogany stained bentwood, the new linen upholstered seat, arms and adjustable height back over an exu...
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Late 19th Century Austrian Antique Art Nouveau Chaise Longues

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Metal

Thonet Adjustable Bentwood Chaise Longue
Thonet Adjustable Bentwood Chaise Longue
H 40.75 in W 57 in D 25.88 in

Art Nouveau chaise longues for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a broad range of unique Art Nouveau chaise longues for sale on 1stDibs. Many of these items were first offered in the 21st Century and Contemporary, but contemporary artisans have continued to produce works inspired by this style. If you’re looking to add vintage chaise longues created in this style to your space, the works available on 1stDibs include seating and other home furnishings, frequently crafted with wood, bentwood and other materials. If you’re shopping for used Art Nouveau chaise longues made in a specific country, there are Europe, France, and Asia pieces for sale on 1stDibs. While there are many designers and brands associated with original chaise longues, popular names associated with this style include Gebrüder Thonet Vienna GmbH, Ecole de Nancy, and Raka Studio. It’s true that these talented designers have at times inspired knockoffs, but our experienced specialists have partnered with only top vetted sellers to offer authentic pieces that come with a buyer protection guarantee. Prices for chaise longues differ depending upon multiple factors, including designer, materials, construction methods, condition and provenance. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $1,220 and tops out at $15,000 while the average work can sell for $4,576.

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