This essay shows that there are similarities between architectural Liberty style and Bergson's theory of time and memory. Art Nouveau is the apotheosis of interiority, living coincides with leaving “traces“ of the past (as in Bergson) and the collector is its typical figure, transfiguring objects with exchange value into symbolic elements.

“The watches we will observe will no longer deprive us of the taste for living, having by now learned to share moments of our life with them, in which these measuring objects will ideally mark our experiences full of meaning that we will place over time with a pleasant nostalgia.“ (English translation of page 139).