Jugend Magazine - German Expressionism's Greatest Influence

In every culture around the world there are eras where different fads and trends reign supreme. The popular trends dictate the arts and many facets of life during their either brief of long reign and reflect the character of that era. What sets the trend differ in each instance so that some may be due to more serious issues like economics while others are ushered in by the mere introduction of a new publication. In German speaking countries in Europe this was exactly the case. A magazine, called the Jugend, set the stage for the advancement of German Art Nouveau during the late 19th and early 20th century. The Jugend not only ushered the coming of the German Art Nouveau movement but also largely influenced publication style and art worldwide.

The German Art Nouveau movement indeed became very popular and soon was very evident not only in the typical art like paintings and drawing but in architecture and other products and furniture that were made artistically. The movement, named Jugendstil in recognition of the publications contribution to the development of the movement, inspired a lot of artists indeed especially those involved in graphic arts. The graphics in the magazine Jugend became very popular since the cartoons were very expressive and the caricatures rather notably unnatural. Unlike most styles used by artists during the 19th century Jugendstil used precise and hard edges to make striking images that went especially well with the also unique style of typography. Jugendstil typography was undoubtedly revolutionary during its time with its effects and influence being felt until now with some of the fonts used in computers nowadays.

The great thing about Jugendstil is that the images and text always looked very blended really well since the style didn't dictate much to the artist but left much to the artist's discretion. Because of this the art of Jugendstil is an art with which there is not just one method in place. Instead there are various methods used depending on the artist that developed and used the method. Just the same even with various methods employed the artists all arrived with the similar characteristic that made the art distinctly of the Jugendstil era.

As of today even though it is not the most popular art form in Germany or anywhere in Europe right now there is still a constant interest. In fact there's a growing interest among art collectors so that buying and selling or trading of original Jugend issues and other Jugendstil art is increasingly becoming more common. The great thing about the resurgence in interest is that it is a worldwide interest, just like the interest in the original Jugend. If you search for Jugend or Jugendstil search results will give you websites not only written in English but of course German and even other languages. You will also find a plethora of site not dealing with just simple information regarding Jugendstil but also sites that show off and sell Jugendstil art for collectors.