Art Nouveau (French for "New art") is an art and design style that peaked in popularity at the turn of the 20th century.
Other, more localized terms for the cluster of self-consciously radical, somewhat mannered reformist chic that formed a
prelude to 20th-century Modernism, included Jugendstil in Germany, named for the snappy avant-garde periodical Jugend ('Youth') or
Sezessionstil in Vienna, where forward-looking artists and designers seceded from the mainstream salon exhibitions, to exhibit on their
own in more congenial surroundings.
In Italy, Stile Liberty was named for the London shop that had been distributing good modern design emanating from the Arts
and Crafts movement, a sign both of the Art Nouveau's commercial aspect and the 'imported' character it always retained in
Italy.
In Spain, the movement was centred in Barcelona and was known as modernisme in Catalan and modernismo in Spanish. Antoni
Gaudí is the main architect in the movement.