Samuel Siegfried Bing, who usually gave his name as S. Bing, was a German-French art dealer who lived in Paris as an adult, and who helped introduce Japanese art and artworks to the West and was a factor in the development of the Art Nouveau style during the late nineteenth century.
Bing, wearing a hanfu
Cover of an issue of Le Japon Artistique, which he published from 1888 to 1891
His gallery the Maison de l'Art Nouveau in Paris
Gallery entrance
Art Nouveau is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and flowers. Other characteristics of Art Nouveau were a sense of dynamism and movement, often given by asymmetry or whiplash lines, and the use of modern materials, particularly iron, glass, ceramics and later concrete, to create unusual forms and larger open spaces. It was popular between 1890 and 1910 during the Belle Époque period, and was a reaction against the academicism, eclecticism and historicism of 19th century architecture and decorative art.
Image: Abbesses
Image: Otto Eckmann Jugend Nr. 14, 1896
Image: Louis comfort tiffany, lampada da tavolo pomb lily, 1900 10 ca
Image: Louis Majorelle Wall Cabinet Walters 6587