ABSTRACT
This chapter examines through the example of van de Velde, how the avant-gardiste position within Art Nouveau demanded far more than the ‘flowering of the decorative arts’ which so many commentators take it to have been. It provides a frame of reference for the elucidation of Glasgow Art Nouveau as a movement reflecting Continental avant-gardiste trends. The chapter explores some attempts to specify the nature of ‘Glasgow Style’ is examined in order to demonstrate the kind of difficulties which have been encountered by commentators in this area. The most illuminating way of beginning to examine the European context for the Glasgow School of Painting is from the vantage point of Newbery’s ideologically-informed perspective. In the context of Newbery’s portrayal of the Glasgow painters, style could be developed innovatively by an individual or by a small group; what was most significant was that it presented an alternative to what the concerted contributions of recent past generations had bequeathed through tradition.
