Arts & Crafts, Ch. 15, 16

 Summary

In this first week, we talked about the Victorian period and the Arts and Crafts movement. The Victorian period lasted from 1837 to 1901. This was during the reign of Queen Victoria and is why it called the Victorian Period. Media, materials, communications, along with manufacturing processes were all improving throughout this era. During this Era, the Industrial Revolution was occurring, which led to a rapid increase in the production of furniture and an increase in the number of people acquiring it. Furniture during the Victorian period had features that were elaborate and had an eclectic mix of styles. Some if these styles were Rococo styles, Gothic styles, and Neoclassical styles. Having a mass production of furniture with these styles, made it accessible to more people which was a positive in the Victorian period. However, due to furniture being produced at a much faster rate, some pieces were manufactured poorly. Another negative was that rooms were cluttered and a combination of furnishings from different design periods were put together with no logical thought.

Victorian styled living room
Modern Victorian styled living room


Later on in the Victorian period, William Morris started the Arts and Crafts Movement because of designs being put together with no logical thought. The movement started in England and became popular in the U.S. William Morris studied Classics at Oxford University and and completed an apprenticeship in architecture under Phillip Webb. Some key characteristics of furniture from the Arts and Crafts Movement include simple honest designs, completely hand-made, wood joints visible, based on medieval designs, and predominate wood oak. 

Morris Chair                                                       Modern styled Morris Chair
 Arts and Crafts Bed                                                         Modern Arts and Crafts Bed


One Step Further

One architect who stood out to me was Charles Rennie Mackintosh, a Scottish architect and designer. H e was born June 7, 1868 and passed away on December 10, 1928. He used simple construction elements and simple geometric forms. He introduced exaggerated proportions such as the extremely high chair backs. In the Room de Luxe at the Willow Tea Rooms, you can see that the chairs have a really high back on the chair. The design of those chairs are pretty unique to me and is what stood out to me. Mackintosh's most important building is the Glasglow School of Art.


    Glasglow School of Art                                               Room de Luxe at the Willow Tea Rooms





Comments

  1. Professor VanderNoordaaJanuary 25, 2025 at 2:00 PM

    Gabriel,
    This was a wonderful Blog. Your summary of the historical events leading up the Arts and Crafts movement was excellent. You provided us with great examples of furniture that represented this time. Your modern examples of the Morris Chair and Arts and Crafts bed were perfect. Charles Rennie Mackintosh was the perfect designer to go into more depth on- great images to go with your description. 50/50 points

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