Mister Bing & l'Art Nouveau

A film by Françoise Levie

Broadcast on France 5: Sunday 16 January 2005

The origins of French Art Nouveau, seen through the eyes of the art dealer and collector, Siegfried Bing (1838-1905). The name of his Parisian art gallery, L'Art Nouveau, was the same as that of the art movement around 1900, also known as Jugendstil.

Siegfried Bing opened his Paris gallery L'Art Nouveau in 1895. His goal was to promote a modern style by bringing together the visual and the applied arts in innovative interiors with a contemporary design. Bing's L'Art Nouveau achieved its greatest triumph and international acclaim at the Paris World Exhibition of 1900. The film re-establishes Bing's role as the principal disseminator of Japanese art in Europe and as a key figure in the discovery of Vincent Van Gogh. Bing's ties with other painters, including the Nabis Edouard Vuillard and Pierre Bonnard are shown as well as his ability to work closely with creators and designers in the United States such as Louis Comfort Tiffany. Bing's L'Art Nouveau achieved its greatest triumph and international acclaim at the Paris World Exhibition of 1900.