Arts and Crafts Movement

 Arts and Crafts Movement 

January 15, 2023

The Arts and crafts movement was heavily focused on materials and how they are used in the interior aspect to create the essential Victorian look, which is what the era was striving for. In these chapters I have learned what materials were mainly used for furniture, the positives and negatives, and also the variety of designers who have contributed to this era. Where it all began was with Queen Victoria. She was born in the era of Neoclassicism. With her being born in that era she grew up with a lot of background on classical style in the arts. She sprung off an idea that was called Victorian. This is the sentiment that is frequently superimposed with an idea of sexual and moral property. This is a very broad example to say the least . To break it down it's considered to be the modernist movement. Beginning with consumer culture. 

As you can see above this era was heavily focused on the interior of spaces, beginning with materials such as wood being the dominant material in this era. Having the many forms of art pieces spread throughout the room created the setting of historical precedents. The style focused on very dark colors in their decor to contribute to what they individually wanted for their space. As an aspiring interior designer I do feel as if this is very cluttered. I enjoy more simplistic and modern looks. I have always valued the clean simplistic looks as shown below. 

It's a mix between that simplistic and modernism that I really like but also was from the Victorian era. This image is the Arts and Crafts movement where they valued the use of furniture. When learning about this movement what really struck out to me was the eight-major characteristics. One was Predominate wood oak ( not mahogany) . They wanted to focus on the grain of the wood. That detail in the furniture is so important to me not only because I love the look of it , but also it adds character to the room, and that's what I think the Arts and Crafts movement was striving for. The honest and heavy furniture they included. In the book “History of Furniture” It says “ There was an urban , sophisticated side to it, but also a down-to-earth, rural side to it. Its followers included accomplished artists and amateurs”  (Pg368). The Arts and Crafts  movement evolved from the Victorian and Neoclassicism era and is only advancing from there. 

With that being said many designers from the 19th century have designed many pieces that have excelled the definition of “ Arts and Crafts movement”. A little background that I learned was that William Morris was the founder. He was very intrigued and fascinated with medieval architecture. He created pieces that formed a “ craft guide “ . Which many designers look back on. This led Phillip Webb to follow in his footsteps and work with him. Which led him to design the “ Morris Chair”. 

This piece above is breathtaking to the eye because of the simplistic honest look. What I found most intriguing was the orange velvet. This style of chair was the symbol of the Art and Crafts movement , which I found summed up the Victorian era and the  Gothic era . It is all shown in this piece. Fast forward he is designing a home for William Morris called the “ the red house”. He focused on the brick style with accents of red. I valued the simplistic look while having those colors of red pop. This home interior strived  to exemplify the Modernist movement . 

In present times, Modernism has grown since the 19th century due to materials, how furniture is made, and what individuals perceive Victorian style with modernism. 

These images above are pictures of the interior spaces that are in today's era more modern with the essentials that were used back then. It's an improvement from the 19th century but still uses the heavy wood throughout the home to keep that movement throughout the years . They included accents of color to unify the space. This is a feature that I really focused on when looking at these spaces. Modernism and Victorian style unifies the space to what was very essential back then. The unique furniture, the pops of color and modernism , has taught me to examine and identify more into a space of its characteristics that make it unique.  From the cluttered look in the 19th century to the world now it has enhanced more simplistic looks that we look for today. We are only evolving and taking features from the past to only enhance them to fit into today's needs and wants which I think the Arts and Crafts movement exemplified. 

Extra sources

 

Arts and Crafts history:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYjNO2Y4m6c

The “ Red house” today : 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5z-pl2GxC0

HINCHMAN, M. A. R. K. (2023). History of interior architecture: Furniture, design, and global culture. FAIRCHILD BOOKS.