Oak Rectangular Arts & Crafts Movement Era Mirror
The arts and Crafts Design Movement was in
the 19th century during the industrial revolution in Britain and
started by two men, John Ruskin and William Morris. They took it upon themselves
to “promote a return to hand-craftsmanship and to assert the creative
independence of individual craftspeople” (Design
Museum. (Unknown)) to juxtapose against the industrial society that had
taken Britain by storm.
This mirror or really only the frame itself,
as the mirror had been replaced many years ago, is a good example of this
hand-craftsmanship from the 19th century. In the image you can see
the delicacy in the framework portraying the precept of ‘Joy in Labour’. The
frame also shows the precept of ‘Fidelity to place’ with the use of local
materials, ie; oak. The idea of making a functional item/object turn into
something aesthetically pleasing, yet still keeping its natural/cultural
origins (eg: the intricate working of the oak frame) was something that Ruskin
and Morris strived with in their work. This is justified with “…the Arts and
Crafts movement dedicated themselves to producing functional objects with high
aesthetic value for a wide public. The style the advocated was based on
natural, rather than artificial…” (Kleiner,
F. S. (2009)). The oak frame stands true to the precept of ‘Truth to
Material’, as it is shown that the mirrors’ creator understood their material
and had incorporated that understanding into their piece.
The research I have done into the Arts and
Crafts movement and its historic structure, style and cultural context relates
back to my chosen item, as it includes most of the precepts of the Arts and
Crafts movement during the industrial revolution in the 19th
century.
Whole Mirror |
Side Detail |
Corner Detail |
References:
Design Museum. (Unknown). Art and Craft Movement. Retrieved from http://designmuseum.org/design/art-and-craft-movement
Kleiner, F. S. (2009). Gardner’s Art Through the Ages: The Western
Perspective, Volume 2 (13th ed.). Boston, USA: Wadsworth