This is a recording of a talk called Colour Revolution: Victorian Art, Fashion & Design, by Matthew Winterbottom recorded on 6th Nov 2024.
This talk was part of the Online Autumn Lecture Series 2024 called Crossing boundaries: Victorian art, design and architecture. Follow this link to watch all of the lectures.
We’re used to the idea of Victorian architecture, art and design as separate disciplines, with their own historians. But that seriously misrepresents the way that many nineteenth-century architects and designers thought and practised. They conceived of the fine and decorative arts as part of an architectural whole – a total work of art. Our seven expert speakers will boldly break down disciplinary boundaries in a discussion of the use of colour and texture across the whole range of Victorian design and analyses of the important roles played by mosaic, stained glass, embroidery and three-dimensional wall coverings. Among the highlights are lectures on two great designers who sought in very different ways to fuse architecture with decoration and the fine arts – Owen Jones and Alfred Stevens, both the subjects of major new books by our speakers.
Colour Revolution: Victorian Art, Fashion & Design
Matthew Winterbottom talks about the recent Ashmolean Exhibition Colour Revolution: Victorian Art, Fashion & Design that sought to challenge widely held perceptions that the Victorian age was dark and gloomy. As well as reviving the rich colours of the ancient and medieval past, of the Middle East, India, China and Japan and the natural world, artists and architects embraced the new vivid hues which technological and scientific advances made possible. As Britain’s industrial revolution gained pace, new scientific breakthroughs allowed the Victorians to become increasingly revolutionary in their use of colour, with new hues greeted with both excitement and suspicion. This explosion of colour was embraced by artists, designers and many others in all walks of 19th-century life.
Matthew Winterbottom is the Curator of Decorative Arts and Sculpture, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford
After booking a ticket, you will be given access to the recording of the event. Please ignore the event date in the listings.
This event helps raise funds for The Victorian Society - the only charity dedicated to fighting for our Victorian and Edwardian heritage. Join us today and safeguard our unique cultural heritage for future generations! For further information, click here.
The Victorian Society is an IHBC recognised CPD provider.
I mage: Detail of the Great Bookcase, front view, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. CC BY-SA 4.0
