Lionel Lambourne

Originating from the Greek, aesthetics is the name which has been given since classical times to the study of beauty and the nature of the beautiful. In the second half of the nineteenth century, fuelled by the writings of Walter Pater and Baudelaire and the art of the Pre-Raphaelites, British poets, painters, designers and architects began to turn to aesthetic concerns and to place more emphasis on ornament and on the past. The result was the Aesthetic Movement and a new freedom in all aspects of the fine and decorative arts. In architecture, the dogmatism of Gothic gave way to the charm of Queen Anne. In interiors, heavy Victorian forms were replaced by the lighter, fresher Japanese-inspired shapes and in the graphic arts, innovative methods, coupled with a new approach to form led to the revitalization of illustration and book design. Believing that beauty should permeate every sphere of life, the Aesthetes' rallying cry was 'Art for Art's Sake'. Oscar Wilde, one of the movement's most characteristic and charismatic members, was heard to complain about the difficulty of 'living up to one's blue and white china' and his flamboyant dress and lifestyle made him one of the most widely known figures of the late nineteenth century. Together with James McNeill Whistler, Aubrey Beardsley and a host of other colourful figures, Wilde felt very strongly about elegance and richness and it was this very coherence of philosophy that held the Aesthetic Movement together and gave it a lasting influence. From the languid figures of Rossetti to the sunflowers of Wilde and the flamboyance of Ellen Terry, Aesthetic motifs cannot be easily forgotten.

The Aesthetic Movement

Amelia Jane Murray

A Regency Lady's Faery Bower

Ernest Henry Griset

Fantasies of a Victorian Illustrator

Ernest Griset

Una Des Fontaines

Ann Eatwell

An illustrated catalogue of the ornamental lustre ware made by Daisy Makeig-Jones for the Wedgwood Company between 1909 and 1941, with essays on her life and work.

Wedgwood Fairyland Lustre : the Work of Daisy Makeig-Jones

Miss Jones and Her Fairyland

A broad survey of the West's extraordinary love affair with Japan. From the moment of the very first contact in the sixteenth century, Japan has always possessed an irresistible fascination for the West. The fascination was if anything increased when Japan closed its borders in 1638, and for over 200 years the only contact was through a small colony of Dutch traders who were permitted to live on the tiny island of Deshima in Nagasaki Bay. After 1858, full trade was resumed, and a wave of 'Japanomania' swept across Europe and America. The 1862 Great Exhibition in London was the first to display a wide range of Japanese goods in the west. Visited by hundreds of thousands of people, the prints, ceramics and lacquer work became the height of fashion. Christopher Dresser travelled to Japan in 1876 as an agent for Tiffany & Co. He visited 64 potteries and dozens of other manufacturers. Not only did he take photographs home to spread the word there, but he also advised the Japanese how best to export their trade. This two way dialogue offers a rich synthesis of fine art and the decorative arts, as well as popular culture. Lionel Lambourne tells this remarkable story in a fluent and engaging narrative that focuses on the human drama - often amusing but sometimes tragic - of the individual personalities involved in the two-way dialogue between cultures.

Cultural Crossings Between Japan and the West

Japonisme

Lionel Lambourne

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