Who are the founders of the 'Art Noveau'?

• A. John Ruskin and William Moris
• B. Frank Lloyd Wright and Le Corbusier
• C. Shah Jahan and Tolentino
• D. Juan Nakpil and Felipe Mendoza

Answer: (A)

Art Nouveau isn’t the product of two founders; it’s a continental design movement that emerged in the 1890s across several European cities. Its look comes from flowing, organic lines and nature-inspired motifs applied to architecture, interiors, graphics, and decorative arts, creating a unified, decorative style rather than a single inventor or duo of founders.

Across Europe, different leaders pushed the movement: Victor Horta in Brussels, Hector Guimard in Paris, Antoni Gaudí in Barcelona, Gustav Klimt in Vienna, and Charles Rennie Mackintosh in Glasgow are among the best-known figures who defined its varied regional expressions. The names you’ve listed—Ruskin and Morris—are central to the Arts and Crafts movement in Britain, which preceded and influenced Art Nouveau but is not the same movement. They helped revive handcraft and traditional skills, shaping ideas that later fed into Art Nouveau, but they aren’t founders of it.

So, Art Nouveau isn’t anchored to a single founder pair; it’s best understood as a wide, stylistic network of designers across Europe who shared an interest in integrated, nature-inspired design.