Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Alexis's question

Alexis asked: The book mentioned that a man named Baron Victor Horta may have started the movement of Art Nouveau. Did he? What happened to Ethel Reed?

Baron Victor Horta was not necessarily a big influence on art nouveau graphic design, but he was a Belgian architect who was said to be "undoubtedly the key European Art Nouveau architect." Hotel Tassel in Brussels in the early 1890s is sometimes said to be the first introduction of the style to architecture from the decorative arts.

As for Ethel Reed, she remains a mystery to many people. Doing some research, it seems there are several assertions. First, that she may have lost her sight, which would obviously end her art career. Second, one person says they found a 1901 census from Britain in which she had a four-year-old son and no husband, which would have left her even more hard-pressed for money to support herself, and who knows what may have happened then. Lastly, many people accept that she was engaged, then traveled abroad to study--and then simply disappeared after that.
Sources:
http://lists.pglaf.org/pipermail/project-wombat/2007-May/006570.html
Wikipedia

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