Introduction
Since the 19th century, as well as William Morris and Arts and Crafts Movement examples, groups of concerned industrialists and designers have essentially tried to reform the practice of manufacturing and design in Britain. These groups include the British Institute of Industrial Art, the Council for Arts and Industry, and the Design and Industries Association (DIA). The design reformers tried to help a rapidly growing and new generation of the middle class homemakers make artistic and health homes. For that reason, this essay focuses on the ideals, aims, as well as the issues concerning early Design Reformers and Aesthetic movement during the 19th century in England.
Arts and Crafts Movement is in fact the main reform design line during the 19th century, which defines period of its paramount development, approximately between 1875 and 1920. Aesthetic Movement as well as Art Nouveau, whose origins were in reaction to Industrial Revolution in middle of 19th century, are two key stylistic developments of the philosophy of this movement. Aesthetic Movement is the introduction of principles, which emphasized art in production of metalwork, furniture, textile, stained glass, ceramic, books, and wallpapers. The aesthetic movement started as a reform impulse (Raizman 2004). This movement was actually a part of industrial revolution critique that had radically changed Britain following Napoleonic Wars. Initially, English manufacturers and designers followed conscious imitation pattern established on the continent. Besides the prints, free use was made of Japanese ivories, cloisonné wear, textiles, bronzes, and lacquer. Nonetheless, it did not take a long time before a Japonisme English brand started to appear.
Arts and Crafts movement was established by William Morris, a socialist in an effort to reclaim preindustrial spirit of the medieval English Society. Additionally, the movement was rooted in teachings of John Ruskin and August Welby Northmore Pugin (1812-1852), a designer. John Ruskin was the greatest theorist and art critic of the 19th century. Following ideas that a happy employee created beautiful things irrespective of ability, and that moral and good design could only originate from a moral and good society, the movement looked to the English sources, particularly Celtic traditions and medieval English, for inspiration.
Morris and co. sold furnishings that were made by artist-crafts people and rural peasantry. The intentions of Morris were to make affordable and handcrafted goods, which reflected workers individuality and creativity, characteristics that were not found in the industrially produced goods. Unluckily, in the end the high manufacturing overheads made these objects very expensive for several people to buy (Gere 2010). Morris’ circle included Pre-Raphaelites, particularly William De Morgan (1839-1917), a ceramist, Philip Webb (1831-1915), an architect designer, and Edward Burne Jones (1833-1898). The following are some furnishings that were made by Pre-Raphaelites, De Morgan and Webb.
Vase with cover (1888-1898) made by William De Morgan
Cabinet, 1861 by Philip Webb
During much of the 19th century, a great discussion on the design and industry involved manufactures, consumers, ands artists alike. Interest in the design and its role in industrial production of goods was essentially generated, in part, by a Parliamentary Select Committee report on Art and manufacturers. This committee expressed worry that the British manufactured goods lacked in quality compared to output of German, United States, and France, and that, as a result, England risked losing “export race” (Raizman 2004).
Economic argument calling for superior design was actually joined by an aesthetic and morally based reaction in contrast to the indiscriminate and rampant ornamentation use. As a good example of the poor design, critics criticized the deceptive 3-dimensional, illusionistic patterns, which decorated the 2-dimensional carpets and wallpapers surfaces. Government Design schools were established in 1837 with an objective of improving the education of designers that in turn was assumed would improve the British industrial output.
However, the industry continued to reply to the popular taste in addition to new wave of criticism that was directed at low standards of the British design. The critics included Henry Cole (1808-1882) who was an educator and a designer, Owen Jones (1809-1874) who was a theorist and ornamentalist, and Richard Redgrave (1804-1888), an artist. Their mission was to introduce 3 basic principles. Their initial principle was that decoration is secondary to form; next, was that form is dictated by the materials used and function; and last, was that design would derive from the non-western and English ornament and animal and plant sources, distilled into linear and simple motifs (Gere 2010). It is important to note that the first 2 principles would influence the 20th century design. In contrast to progressive approach of Government Design schools, Arts and Crafts movement rejected industry and modernity.
Another important influence on the design reform, precisely interior decoration, was in fact the mounting information about hygiene and health in the 19th century. Cholera epidemics afflicted this century and germs had been lately discovered. New ideas about design reform, hygiene, and health helped to shape the Aesthetic movement from 1860s through 1880s. One of the movement’s originators, Edward William Godwin designed innovative furniture without the excessive curving, which could be moved easily for easy cleaning (Pevsner 2005). Albeit designing with cleanliness in awareness, Godwin’s aesthetic sensibilities were greatly influenced by antiquarianism, arts of Japan, and theatre. Proponents of the design reform movement found beauty in the exotic, the simple, and the mundane. Borrowing from the non-western and western sources and from the contemporary designers like Dresser and Morris, avant-garde Aesthetes pursued to create sophiscated ambience.
Home decorating styles had started to change dramatically during middle part of 1800’s. The changing British culture displayed itself in how middle class individuals decorated their homes and perceived themselves. In the prior part of 19th century, tastes inclined towards the looks. Soon, dark, rich fabrics and colors now the characteristics of Victorian era started becoming popular. Middle class embraced seeming luxury of the heavy and deep reds materials casing their homes. Industrial revolution impacted how furniture was made. William Morris after being convinced that industrialism was the problem, started to design furniture with basic and medieval style
British decadent writers were influenced by Professor Walter Pater, an Oxford professor. The writers and artists of aesthetic style had a tendency to profess that Arts should offer refined sensuous pleasure, instead of conveying sentimental or moral messages. As a result, they failed to accept Mathew Arnold and John Ruskin’s utilitarian art conception as something useful or moral. Instead, these artists and writers believed that art didn’t have any moralistic purpose. Aesthetes developed a beauty cult that they considered basic factor of art. They asserted that life should copy art. In addition, these artists and writers considered the nature as crude as well as lacking in design compared to the art. Main qualities of style were synesthetic effects, sensuality, suggestion instead of statement, and abundant use of symbols (Raizman 2004).
The discussion above has partially talked about some important designers/thinkers during the nineteenth century. In fact, their ideas helped a lot in shaping direction of the future trends in modern design. Among the most important designers that this second part of the essay intends to discuss include William Morrison, John Ruskin, Owen Jones, and Henry Cole. Additionally, the essay explores how their ideas helped in shaping direction of the future trends in modern design.
William Morris was an English poet, craftsman, and socialist. His designs generated Arts and Crafts Movement as already discussed above. He essentially rejected standard tastes and encouraged to return to the handmade objects. Morris was associated with Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood and was also a close friend of a poet Cristiana Rossetti and her brother Dante Gabriel Rossetti who was a painter-poet. His achievements as a designer has to a certain degree overshadowed his achievements as a socialist visionary and a writer (Pevsner 2005).
In 1860s, he started to revolutionize art of the house decoration as well as furniture in England when he established the firm of Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. The ideals that his efforts generated gave rise to whole new interest in Arts and Crafts Movement, medieval period, and later 20th century ideals like Art Nouveau. His description of art as “the expression by man of his pleasure in labor” has helped to shape the direction of the future trends in the modern design by making the contemporary man see art as a happiness for both the user and the maker hence this has contributed the success of the modern design. In addition, this designer’s ideas on simplicity value and importance of individual craftsmen are actually still with us in the present day (Pevsner 2005).
John Ruskin was an English art critic of Victorian era, art patron, philanthropist, and a social thinker. As the greatest art critic of Victorian era, he gained respectability for Pre-Raphaelites, who were against the classical approach to the art and assumed that paintings should be done from the direct observation of the nature. He rebelled against the formal, classical architecture and art. He championed asymmetrical and rough architecture of the medieval Europe (Pevsner 2005). Just like William Morris as well as other Arts and Crafts philosophers, he opposed industrialization and was against use of the machine made materials hence this has helped to shape the direction of the future trends in the modern design by encouraging innovation and creativity.
Owen Jones was an English designer, writer, and architect. He is best recognized for his standard work treating the western and eastern design motifs, The Grammar of Ornament (1856) that presented systematic pictorial collection that emphasized use of color and logical principles application to design of day to day objects. In the field of design, Jones was a pioneer having made the drawings of mosques in Istanbul and Cairo. He was and remains a greatly influential force in word of design and architecture. This has also helped to shape the direction of the future trends in the modern design by encouraging creativity and innovation.
Last but not least, Henry Cole was a writer, designer, and noted inventor who was responsible for various innovations in art design education and commerce. In 1847, he founded the Summerly’s Art manufacturers, through which sculptors and painters designed for the industries. Together with Richard Redgrave, they established “The journal of Design and Manufacturers.” He also proposed unprecedented Great Exhibition whose success encouraged superior design education in England (Gere 2010).
The ideas of these thinkers/designers and others were very fundamental in encouraging individuality and creativity in design hence the goods that were produced and are still produced in the modern times are superior than the industrially produced goods.
References
Raizman, D. S. (2004). History of modern design. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Pevsner, N. (2005). Pioneers of modern design: From William Morris to Walter Gropius. New Haven, Conn: Yale University Press.
Gere, C. (2010). Artistic circles: Design & decoration in the aesthetic movement. London: V&A Pub.
