--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Art Nouveau was coil-envy." description: "\"“Art Nouveau was coil-envy.”\" — China Miéville" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/326/china-mi-ville-1303_envy_art-nouveau-was-coil-envy-2198792_2198792.png" --- # Art Nouveau was coil-envy. ![“Art Nouveau was coil-envy.” quote by China Miéville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/326/china-mi-ville-1303_envy_art-nouveau-was-coil-envy-2198792_2198792.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/326/china-mi-ville-1303_envy_art-nouveau-was-coil-envy-2198792_2198792.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/326/china-mi-ville-1303_envy_art-nouveau-was-coil-envy-2198792_2198792.png) > ““Art Nouveau was coil-envy.”” [China Miéville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He critiques Art Nouveau as overly decorative and lacking substance. **In simple terms:** Art Nouveau is superficial. Key Takeaway Seek depth over style. Themes art design culture Mood analytical thoughtful Type artistic critical When to use this quote - museum tours - design education - architectural criticism Key Concepts aesthetic theory historical critique visual arts Questions to Reflect On - Do you value function over form? - Can ornamentation coexist with meaning? A Different Perspective Some may appreciate its ornamental value. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art Nouveau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-nouveau-1431418/) [Coil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coil-530720/) [Coil Envy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coil-envy-4820935/) [Envy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/envy/) [Nouveau Coil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nouveau-coil-4820934/) ## Related quotes > [“The “Art Nouveau” appeal of smoking: manufacture your own pneuma, spirit. “I’m alive.” “I’m decorative.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/the-art-nouveau-appeal-of-smoking-manufacture-your-own-pneuma-spirit/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [“Last of the men in hats hops of the coil.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-garvey/last-of-the-men-in-hats-hops-of-the-coil/) [Guy Garvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-garvey/) > [The terrifying and edible beauty of Art Nouveau architecture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salvador-dali/the-terrifying-and-edible-beauty-of-art-nouveau-architecture/) [Salvador Dali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salvador-dali/) > [My wife was fitted with a coil. For about 18 months I hated it! She used to pick up CB signals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-monkhouse/my-wife-was-fitted-with-a-coil-for-about-18-months-i-hated-it-she/) [Bob Monkhouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-monkhouse/) > [I would that I were low laid in my grave. I am not worth this coil that's made for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-would-that-i-were-low-laid-in-my-grave-i-am-not-worth-this-coil/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Art Nouveau got its inspiration from nature. The Bauhaus got its inspiration from engineering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/art-nouveau-got-its-inspiration-from-nature-the-bauhaus-got-its/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [“Japonisme was a vertical phenomenon running through a number of successive styles; Art Nouveau was a horizontal, chronologically limited phenomenon that embodied the aim…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/klaus-berger/japonisme-was-a-vertical-phenomenon-running-through-a-number-of/) [Klaus Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/klaus-berger/) > [I like elegance. I like art nouveau; a stretched line or curve. These things are very much in the foreground of my work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-r-giger/i-like-elegance-i-like-art-nouveau-a-stretched-line-or-curve-these/) [H. R. Giger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-r-giger/) > [“Then he would shed this mortal coil, once and for all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/then-he-would-shed-this-mortal-coil-once-and-for-all/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [“It was the Riverton drawing room. Even the wallpaper was the same. Silver Studios' burgundy Art Nouveau, "Flaming Tulips," as fresh as the day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-morton/it-was-the-riverton-drawing-room-even-the-wallpaper-was-the-same/) [Kate Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-morton/) > [Natural DNA is a tractless coil, like an unwound and tangled audiotape on the floor of the car in the dark.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/natural-dna-is-a-tractless-coil-like-an-unwound-and-tangled-audiotape/) [Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/) > [When a coil is operated with currents of very high frequency, beautiful brush effects may be produced, even if the coil be of comparatively…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-tesla/when-a-coil-is-operated-with-currents-of-very-high-frequency/) [Nikola Tesla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-tesla/) > [“I don't envy "busy." Busy means having a schedule, not living life. What I really covet is leisure and peace of mind. Those who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-lynn-hope/i-don-t-envy-busy-busy-means-having-a-schedule-not-living-life-what-i/) [Donna Lynn Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-lynn-hope/) > [“He often remembered his dad's admonition that envy was mental theft. If you coveted another man's possessions, Dad said, then you should be willing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/he-often-remembered-his-dad-s-admonition-that-envy-was-mental-theft/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) ## More by China Miéville > [“I just can't get with this idea that literature is a 12-step program. If someone wants to read a book to see good people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/i-just-can-t-get-with-this-idea-that-literature-is-a-12-step-program/) [China Miéville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/) > [“Houses built on bridges are scandals. A bridge wants to not be. If it could choose its shape, a bridge would be no shape,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/houses-built-on-bridges-are-scandals-a-bridge-wants-to-not-be-if-it/) [China Miéville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/) > [Remember the movements that don't look like moving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/remember-the-movements-that-don-t-look-like-moving/) [China Mieville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/) > [“Either way, it is a curio of the moment that hard-left advocates of ‘all power to the soviets’ were delegated by a soviet opponent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/either-way-it-is-a-curio-of-the-moment-that-hard-left-advocates-of/) [China Miéville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/) > [It felt like being a child again, though it was not. Being a child is like nothing. It's only being. Later, when we think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/it-felt-like-being-a-child-again-though-it-was-not-being-a-child-is/) [China Mieville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/) > [“We have to establish our credentials as an explorocracy; so to survive and rule ourselves, we have to explore.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/we-have-to-establish-our-credentials-as-an-explorocracy-so-to-survive/) [China Miéville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/) > [“So long as it fated, fate didn’t care what it fated.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/so-long-as-it-fated-fate-didn-t-care-what-it-fated/) [China Miéville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/) > [“Everything's fit to be worshipped.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/everything-s-fit-to-be-worshipped/) [China Miéville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/) > [“Death isn't what it used to be”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/death-isn-t-what-it-used-to-be/) [China Miéville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/) > [“almanacs, or what was left of them when those pages making incorrect predictions and offering unhelpful advice had been torn out.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/almanacs-or-what-was-left-of-them-when-those-pages-making-incorrect/) [China Miéville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/) > [“There are no telepaths in this universe, I think, but there are empathics, with languages so silent that they may as well be sharing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/there-are-no-telepaths-in-this-universe-i-think-but-there-are/) [China Miéville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/) > [“The poets and artists and philosophers, resistance activists, secret scouts and troublemakers, had become, as they must, soldiers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/the-poets-and-artists-and-philosophers-resistance-activists-secret/) [China Miéville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/) > [“The city’s a heart, I said, and in that a heart and a city were sutured into a third thing, a heartish city, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/the-city-s-a-heart-i-said-and-in-that-a-heart-and-a-city-were-sutured/) [China Miéville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/) > [“As he got older, Billy suspected, he would, Dicaprio-like, simply become like an increasingly wizened child.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/as-he-got-older-billy-suspected-he-would-dicaprio-like-simply-become/) [China Miéville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/) > [Scars are memory. Like sutures. They stitch the past to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/scars-are-memory-like-sutures-they-stitch-the-past-to-me/) [China Mieville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/) [Explore all 257 China Miéville quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/) ## More Envy quotes > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“He often remembered his dad's admonition that envy was mental theft. If you coveted another man's possessions, Dad said, then you should be willing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/he-often-remembered-his-dad-s-admonition-that-envy-was-mental-theft/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [“I don't envy "busy." Busy means having a schedule, not living life. What I really covet is leisure and peace of mind. Those who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-lynn-hope/i-don-t-envy-busy-busy-means-having-a-schedule-not-living-life-what-i/) [Donna Lynn Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-lynn-hope/) > [There is no sweeter sound than the crumbling of one's fellow man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/there-is-no-sweeter-sound-than-the-crumbling-of-one-s-fellow-man/) [Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/) > [Thinking, or more precisely identification with thinking, gives rise to and maintains the ego, which, in our Western society in particular, is out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/thinking-or-more-precisely-identification-with-thinking-gives-rise-to/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [“Is it not strange that the more someone has, the less he feels he has? Envy can never be sated.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-wheeler/is-it-not-strange-that-the-more-someone-has-the-less-he-feels-he-has/) [Jeff Wheeler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-wheeler/) > [I avoid envy at all costs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claudia-winkleman/i-avoid-envy-at-all-costs/) [Claudia Winkleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claudia-winkleman/) > [Sometimes I envy painters, it is wonderful to remain in front of a bouquet of flowers a whole morning, or even longer. A photographer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edouard-boubat/sometimes-i-envy-painters-it-is-wonderful-to-remain-in-front-of-a/) [Edouard Boubat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edouard-boubat/) > [avarice breeds envy, a worm that is always gnawing, letting the avaricious enjoy neither their own nor anyone else's good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-catherine-of-siena/avarice-breeds-envy-a-worm-that-is-always-gnawing-letting-the/) [St. Catherine of Siena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-catherine-of-siena/) > [“You don’t see someone flying and you begin to bite yourself for not being able to do that. You do what you can.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/you-don-t-see-someone-flying-and-you-begin-to-bite-yourself-for-not/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [Knowledge forbidden? Suspicious, reasonless. Why should their Lord Envy them that? Can it be sin to know, Can it be death? And do they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/knowledge-forbidden-suspicious-reasonless-why-should-their-lord-envy/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [“Who would have thought you had so many supporters?" she whispered. "Not mine, my love. Yours. I had not a one till you started…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michele-sinclair/who-would-have-thought-you-had-so-many-supporters-she-whispered-not/) [Michele Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michele-sinclair/) > [“Treachery is always a hairy caterpillar bred of a small butterfly called envy, no matter how lofty the principles involved.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fazil-iskander/treachery-is-always-a-hairy-caterpillar-bred-of-a-small-butterfly/) [Fazil Iskander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fazil-iskander/) > [Yes, Clay Matthews has a long, golden, Fabio-esque flowing mane that most women would chick-slap someone for. And yes, the shiny, beautiful, dark locks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-foudy/yes-clay-matthews-has-a-long-golden-fabio-esque-flowing-mane-that/) [Julie Foudy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-foudy/) > [“I have known many true connoisseurs, with excellent tastes that range across the humanities and the culinary arts--and they never fail to have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/i-have-known-many-true-connoisseurs-with-excellent-tastes-that-range/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) [Browse all 2,111 Envy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/envy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Art Nouveau was coil-envy.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "China Miéville" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/art-nouveau-was-coil-envy/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Envy" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/art-nouveau-was-coil-envy/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/326/china-mi-ville-1303_envy_art-nouveau-was-coil-envy-2198792_2198792.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/326/china-mi-ville-1303_envy_art-nouveau-was-coil-envy-2198792_2198792.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/326/china-mi-ville-1303_envy_art-nouveau-was-coil-envy-2198792_2198792.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Art Nouveau was coil-envy.” — China Miéville", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "China Miéville", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Art Nouveau was coil-envy.”", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/art-nouveau-was-coil-envy/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/art-nouveau-was-coil-envy/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```