Victorian Era

Victorian Era

During the Victorian Era, technology was slowly starting to improve and many important innovations took place during this time. These innovations included the blast furnace in which slowly started the production of steel, the print works, textile mills, the elevator and even typewriters. During this time, there was also an expansion in the middle class because of the rise of the industry and work. Because of this, people started to afford to live comfortably and could even buy some art works as well. Victorians loved to show off their possessions, thus houses were often very decorative. During this time, historicism was common as architecture and even interiors were built to imitate Gothic and rococo designs; such example of this would be the St. Pancras railway station as it was built in a Neo-Gothic style. During this time, there was also an increase in mass production because of the new technological advances.

William Morris

William Morris was a designer and leader of the arts and crafts movement. William Morris believed that machines were degrading creativity in design. He believed that handcrafts are far superior as it gives a sort of personal feel of the designer into the product. Morris was heavily inspired by nature ranging from plants to animals as well.

Red House 1859-1865

Red House is Neo-Gothic house design by William Morris and Philip Webb that shows a very unique design during that time. The rich red colour compliments the green grass around it. The grass helps to balance out the colour of the house. The balance of different angled lines help to give the house a powerful and complex look as well. The circled windows give a nice touch of visual balance as well.

References

1.) Victorian Architecture, Available from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victorian_architecture [18 October 2014]

2.) The Victorians, [online video], 2014, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBNFdP2xr7c (accessed on 18 October 2014)

3.) Loftus, 2011, The Rise of The Victorian Middle Class, Available from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/victorians/middle_classes_01.shtml [18 October 2014]

4.) Red House London, Available from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_House,_London [18 October 2014]

5.) William Morris part 2, [online video], 2011, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wL3Zu05KVGo (assessed on 18 October 2014)

The Pre Raphaelites

The Pre Raphaelites

The Pre Raphaelites were a group of English painters and critics that wanted to eliminate the predictability of academic art and go for a more direct, intensely coloured and simple approach of Italian painters before Raphael. Thus they focused to start emulating art from the late medieval to early Renaissance. The subject of the paintings varied but they drew inspiration from literary sources that gave them moral themes or stories. Because of this, they were quite loved by the Victorians. The Pre Raphaelites grew some controversy as well as they produced works with the subject of prostitution, religion and emigration as well. The founders of this group were John Everett, William Holman Hunt and Dante Gabriel.

Ophelia by John Everett 1851-1852

This painting by John Everett depicts the character of Ophelia from the Shakespeare play “Hamlet”. She is shown to be singing before drowning. The painting shows a very beautiful and realistic portrayal of nature. The woman is also highly detailed with a very decorative dress. I find that there is a balance in tone with her pale white skin and brightly coloured dress with the dark coloured water beneath her. This helps to bring out the character more. What I find interesting is the balance of the beauty of nature with that of death as well. It gives an ironic effect in my opinion. The balance of value is also present. I believe the dark toned shadows on the foliage help to enhance the colours more.

 An interesting aspect of this particular painting is that there is a form of a skull on the foliage. Although there is no evidence if this was intended or not, I find it quite well placed as it indirectly depicts the faith of Ophelia. This indirectly gives also a balance with the beauty of the scene.

References

1.) The Pre Raphaelites Brotherhood, Available from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pre-Raphaelite_Brotherhood [18 October 2014

2.) Meagher, The Pre Raphaelites, Available from: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/praf/hd_praf.htm [18 October 2014]

3.) Tate, Opehial's Symbolism, Available from: http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/ophelia/subject-and-meaning/ophelias-symbolism [18 October 2014] 

The Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution

The origin of the industrial revolution started in England during the 18^th century. Before this time, most people lived in a simple agricultural life, but then as the 18^th century progressed, the industrial revolution began in which it transformed life with the help of new technology. During this time period, many important innovations began such as the use of coal, the first steam powered engine, railroads, factories, textile inventions, free trade and the iron industry. Although during this time, Britain gained maximum power and a lot of technological advancements, many people suffered for the cost of maximum gain. 

The Great Exhibition

During the 19^th century, there was an international exhibition in London from 1^st of May till the 11^th. This exhibition, organized by Prince Albert and Henry Cole, celebrated the technological advancements and design. Many famous figures such as Charles Darwin and Charles Dickens visited this exhibition as well. This exhibition was held in a large glass building nick named “The Crystal Palace”.

The Crystal Palace

This large building, design by Joseph Paxton, held The Great Exhibition event. It was built with cast iron and plate glass; this gave the building a very unique form during that time. When one would see this building, one would see a balance of positive and negative space because of the iron and plate glass. I believe that during the day, the building would have reflected a lot of the sunlight because of the glass, thus it would have looked like its lit. The building has also showed balance on horizontal, vertical and curved lines as well. Inside the building, full sized Elm trees were also placed; this further gave a contrast between nature and architecture. This building was considered as an engineering success. The building was then moved to Sydenham where it was later destroyed by fire on the 30^th of November 1939.

Architecture

In the 19^th century, many historic styles were revived such as Neo-Moorish, Neo-Turkish, Neo-Egyptian and Neo-Gothic. These styles were very similar to the previous ones, but they were built using different and modern techniques.

Neo-Gothic Architecture: St. Patrick’s Cathedral

When one looks at The Cathedral of St. Patrick, one would immediately notice the similarities with Gothic-architecture. The building has a symmetrical balance with a balance of horizontal, vertical, curved and diagonal lines. This gives out a very complex look to the building. The building itself has an asymmetrical balance with its surroundings as the building looks very unique and different compared to the buildings around it. This attracts the eye of the viewer to look at the building.

Owen Jones

Owen Jones was an architect that was famous for his decoration design on the Crystal Palace and for the arrangements of the exhibits.  He is also known for his pattern catalog that he created called "The Grammar of Ornament". This involved of numerous of different pattern designs that could inspire and encourage designers to understand these patterns better. Each pattern in the catalog was very detailed and had vibrant colours. They were all balanced symmetrically balanced and many of them had complimentary colours as well.

References

1.) The Great Exhibition. Available from:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Exhibition [15 October 2014]

2.) Industrial Revolution, [online video], 2013, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhF_zVrZ3RQ, (accessed 15 October 2014)

3.) Ben Johnson, The Great Exhibition of 1851, Available from: http://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/Great-Exhibition-of-1851/ [15 October 2014]

4.) St. Patrick's Cathedral (Manhattan), Available from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Patrick's_Cathedral_(Manhattan) [15 October 2014]

5.) Owen Jones (architect), Available from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owen_Jones_(architect) [15 October 2014]

19th century Realism

Realism

The Realism art movement generated from 19^th century France after the French Revolution. The main aspect of this movement was that it didn't depict any exaggerated drama or propaganda that was very common during the 18^th century, but instead it depicted scenes of ordinary common people during their everyday activity such as working or even nature. Colours in Realism art is not exaggerated as well, instead, artists use natural colour to give a more realistic look. It is also very common that artists balanced out the paintings using warm and cold colours and also balancing out the scenery with the people in the area to help the viewer to focus on specific areas. Realism later helped the development of photography in the later future as well. Nowadays, Realism is still being practiced by many artists but the subject of the paintings has changed more to nature scenery than to people working.

The End of the Working Day 1886-87

This painting by Jules Breton depicts a beautiful scene of women working on the field. At first glance, one would automatically look at the sun because of its position and its intense orange colour. The colour of the women’s clothing, especially the one with the shovel, balances out the intense warm colour of the sun. Breton has also positioned the women at the center of the scene to give more focus on them. I also believe that this helps to balance the field background with the people as well. Breton has also balanced out the positive and negative space of the sky and the field. I find that the shade contrasts and enhances the colour of the scene as well. It is also quite interesting to note that the struggle of what the women are experiencing with the beautiful scenery creates a quite ironic scene.

She’s Mine

This contemporary painting by Cathy McCelland shows a very calm and beautiful landscape. The balance of colour of yellows, greens and blues give out beautiful effect. I also find that the tree and the birds balance out the negative space of the blue sky as well. The atmospheric perspective further enhances the realism of the paintings as well.

1.) Realism (art movement). Available from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Realism_(art_movement) [13 October 2014].

2.) Finocchio Ross. Nineteenth-Century French Realism. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Available From: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/rlsm/hd_rlsm.htm, [13 October 2014]

Introduction of Balance in Art and Design

Balance in art and design is one of principles that help the artist or designer to produce visually pleasing work. Balance works on all the elements of art;

• Line: Horizontal, vertical, diagonal and curved lines

• Shape: Organic and Inorganic shapes

• Form: Geometric or non geometric forms

• Colour: Warm and cold colours or complimentary colours

• Value: Light and Dark

• Texture: Smooth and Rough textures

• Space: Positive and negative shape

One could also balance out his/her work with symmetry. Symmetrical balance pleases the eye as it creates harmony. Different types of symmetry create different and interesting works as well.

• Symmetrical balance

• Asymmetrical balance

• Radial Balance

Throughout history, artists experimented with balance to create different art styles such as chiaroscuro. Sculptors have also used balance to create the “perfect” looking faces and bodies as well thus creating the “golden ration”. Artists have also used colour and value balance to show hierarchy as well.  Designers have also experimented with balance to create interesting and attractive patterns and designs on fashion and even architecture. In interior design, colour balance is very important aspect to create visually pleasing interiors.