Design and the Decorative Arts
Britain 1500-1900
Published on 31. October 2001
Book
Hardback
480 pages
978-1-85177-338-1 (ISBN)
Description
Published to celebrate the reopening of the newly refurbished British Galleries in the Victoria and Albert Museum. This work tells the story of design and decorative art in Britain from the time of Henry VIII to the reign of Queen Victoria. It shows how Britain's rise during this period to become the most powerful nation on earth was reflected in her art, architecture and design, in the way that people lived, and in the increasing quantity and quality of things made in Britain, from furniture to fashionable textiles and from porcelain to elegant silverware. Matching the royal dynasties of the period, the book is divided into the three major sections: Tudor and Stuart Britain; Georgian Britain and Victorian Britain, each looking at the achievements of British design in different and revealing ways. Key themes - "Style", "Who Led Taste", "Fashionable Living" and "What Was New" - form a framework for each section, within the broader historical context. Separate chapters deal with not only what things looked like, but also how they were made and how they fitted into daily life, who decided what was fashionable, and how key technical innovations changed the world.
The text sets out to provide a fascinating picture of the changing nature of British design from the time of the Tudors to the Victorian period when Britain was seen as "the workshop of the world". The illustrations are taken chiefly from the V and A's collections of British art and design.
The text sets out to provide a fascinating picture of the changing nature of British design from the time of the Tudors to the Victorian period when Britain was seen as "the workshop of the world". The illustrations are taken chiefly from the V and A's collections of British art and design.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
V & A Publishing
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
1080 colour illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 295 mm
Width: 255 mm
Weight
3034 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-85177-338-1 (9781851773381)
Copyright in bibliographic data is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or its licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Michael Snodin is Head of the Designs Section of the V & A's Department of Prints, Drawings and Paintings. Publications include Sir William Chambers (V & A Publications, 1996) and Carl and Karin Larsson: Creators of the Swedish Style (V & A Publications, 1997). John Styles is Senior Tutor of the V & A / RCA History of Design course. Widely published, he is a historian specialising in the eighteenth century, and is currently historical advisor to the V & A's British Galleries team.
Content
TUDOR AND STUART BRITAIN 1485 - 1714 Introduction - Britain and Its Rulers - Britain and the World: 1500 - Tudor and Stuart Monarchs 1485 - 1714 - Britain and the World: 1689 Style - Renaissance: Classical or Gothic? - Jacobean Extravagance - The Great Bed of Ware - The Baroque in England Who Led Taste? - The Court of Henry VIII - Prints as Sources for Design - The Stuart Court - The Melville Bed Fashionable Living - Great House Layouts - Textiles for the Home - Goods from the Indies - Lord and Lady Clapham What Was New? - Skills from Europe, 1500-1600 - Silver - John Dwight - The Book GEORGIAN BRITAIN 1714 - 1837 Introduction - Georgian Monarchs 1714 - 1837 - Britain and the World: 1715 - Britain and the World: 1812 Style - Palladianism - Rococo Style - Neo-classicism - Exoticism and Historicism Who Led Taste - Thomas Chippendale and the London Furniture Makers - Josiah Wedgwood (1730-95) - The Duke and Duchess of Northumberland, Aristocratic Patrons - Fashion Magazine Fashionable Living - Taking Tea - Collecting and the Grand Tour - Spitalfields Sliks and the Spread of Fashion - Public Entertainments - Cultural Tourism and Appreciation of the Native Lanscape What Was New? - The Printed Illustrated Catalogue - Porcelain - Printed Textiles - Silverwares VICTORIAN BRITAIN 1837 - 1901 Introduction - Queen Victoria and Her Family - Britain and the World: 1848 - Britain and the Worl: 1901 Style - The Battle of the Styles - The Gothic Revival - Aestheticism - Arts and Crafts Who Led Taste? - The Church - The South Kensington Museum - The Great Exhibition and the Works of Industry of all Nations - William Morris - Commercial Propaganda Fashionable Living - Furnishing the Home - The Dining Table - The Railways What was New? - Christopher Dresser - Furniture - Bool Illustration and Binding - The Photograph