Jugendstil is the German term for a style dating from around 1900 that arose as an offshoot of the French and Belgian art nouveau.
In Austria it was called the secession style, in England, Russia, and other countries, it was known as the modern style. It highlights a change of style and a reaction to the modern realities of industry. Characteristic external traits are decoratively undulating lines, floral ornamentation which stylises nature, and symbolic associations. The Jugendstil is not a rigidly prescribed movement. It is part of an upper middle-class movement of lifestyle reform focused on the aesthetic composition of the private sphere. Common to all the different currents within the Jugendstil was the rejection of the hitherto common practice of imitating older, traditional styles. Some of the founders of modern architecture and industrial design (such as Peter Behrens) emerged from the Jugendstil movement. The movement had its roots and origins in the arts and crafts reformation of the applied arts.
