Karen Camilleri HND 3D: Aesthetic Movement

The Aesthetic movement in Britain was a movement against the industrial revolution but supporting the emphasis of aesthetics in design and that decorative art must first have utility but may also be beautiful. The movement started around 1870’s with a group of artists including William Morris and Dante Gabriel Rossetti. The style was very sensual and organic. Nature themes often appeared on furniture and decoration. Just like the plates from the industrial revolution the blue and white print on porcelain was popular, this time also for ornaments. Painting was very popular in this movement. The Aesthetes believed in beauty in art for its own sake, and dismissed the idea that art should have a moral.

Ceramics demonstrating aesthetic style tend to be decorated with Japanese-inspired motifs including mostly flowers and birds. Blue and white were very popular colours for this, not only because they were the most efficient colours to print with but also because they made the best combination of tones for this type of art. George Jones was part of this movement and was very good in working with pottery. This is a very typical work of his; it is a cup and a saucer set.

The cup is very wide, not usually the typical design we find today. It has more of a bowl shape than an actual glass, but this style makes it look more elegant and fashionable. The ear of the cup has pointy edges, this will make the person using it easier to hold. The shape of the ear reminds me of the roots and branches coming out from the trees. The painted design on the set is also very organic. The beautiful flowers and leaves give a character to the tea ware and the golden trimming at the edges make it look very rich. Jones was one who identified the need for a new and modern style but saw no reason to reject the lessons of the past.

Edward William Godwin was an English designer during the mid- Victorian ages, and later moved on to a more modern taste of the Aesthetic Movement. Godwin got inspired mostly from the Japan style and also from linear lines. The table we see below reflects a lot his character. The elegant straight lines make the design very fancy and bold. The use of metal in the corners and side braces also indicates the inspiration from the Japanese design. The table can also be used as a set of shelves, which may be useful especially for the kitchen, you may put food on the bottom shelve while working on the top. The sides are flaps that you can put up to use and put down when you don’t need them. This is very functional if more than two people are sitting around. This also helps the room have more space when needed.

While doing my research I found this contampory piece of furniture which personally is very similar to the one of Edward William Godwin. The designer of this furniture is Bertrand Besnard who named his creation Fuzo, a furniture piece that can be used as a shelf, seat, footrest, locker or pot depending on how it is put together. Fuzo is a set of metal and cork pieces that you can distort and create the shape you need depending for the function you want. Just like table of Godwin you can adjust it yourself for more than one use. Both tables have the linear rods at the bottom, these can be used for resting your feet while sitting around it. This design is both fun, and functional, adaptable to many situations.