Victorian Era

Victorian Era

During the Victorian era, Queen Victoria was in power for 64 years (1837 to 1901) and the Great Britain was the most powerful country on earth. This era was perceived as a golden age in the arts. In 1851, in the Crystal Palace there was the Great Exhibition and had a huge impact on the development of art and design during the Victorian era.

Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin

Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin was born on the 1^st March of 1812 in London. He was the leader of the Gothic revival. The Arts and Crafts movement started during the Goth period. In the twelfth century the Gothic used to describe the style of the European architecture. At that time, the wealth and power of the church provided the money and inspiration to build churches but these weren’t the only kind of gothic building there were also civic buildings, university building, hospitals and town houses. Two great rules for design that Pugin defines were the real nature of gothic and to become the most important influence on the Arts and Crafts movement. Two principles were that there shouldn’t be features about building which aren’t needed for convenience, construction and propriety and the other was that all the ornament should consist of the essential construction of the building. Pugin designed furniture and he also designed and produced stained glass, metalwork, textiles and jewellery. 

 

Gothic Revival Desk
August Welby Northmore Pugin

References:

Pugin and the Gothic Revival. 2013. Pugin and the Gothic Revival. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.artscrafts.org.uk/roots/pugin.html. [Accessed 06 April 2013].

Victorian - Victoria and Albert Museum. 2013. Victorian - Victoria and Albert Museum. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.vam.ac.uk/page/v/victorian/. [Accessed 03 April 2013]