- Much of the Victorian and Gothic style
was a convoluted mix of different historical styles.
There was no designer at the helm
striving for cohesive simplicity.
The style was purely decoration.
The architects and designers were not interested
in historical or cultural accuracy.
A building or printed page could mix
different cultures from different times,
as long as it looked fancy.
But Owen Jones, a Welsh architect,
strove to design a style that rejected
the Gothic and ornamental, and embodied a
19th century modern style, based on
rational and historical accuracy.
Rather than looking to Protestant and Catholic England,
or pulling arbitrary forms from a mish mash of cultures,
he turned to the Islamic world.
During a trip to Spain Jones visited the Alhambra
and was inspired by the patterns and shapes
of Islamic decoration on the buildings.
Jones believed this mathematical complexity
of pattern and color was the antidote to the chaos
of other Victorian styles.
He researched and refined aggressive theories
surrounding pattern, geometry and abstraction in ornament.
When he finished his field studies in Spain,
Jones returned to England to publish his
findings and theories.
But, color printing at the time,
was not sophisticated enough to
reproduce his examples.
Jones decided to print a book himself,
studying chromolithography and refining the techniques.
The result was a 12 part book.
Plans, elevations, sections and details of the Alhambra.
This took 10 years and was a severe strain
on Jones' finances.
But the book made Jones an expert
on color, pattern and printing.
He continued his mission, as he saw repeated
misuse and misunderstanding of his
ornament and pattern theories.
In 1856 he published a seminal book
The Grammar of Ornament.
In this, he put forth his theories and concepts
with 37 general principles in the arrangement of form
and color in architecture and the decorative arts.
These principles range from the purely formal,
such as Proposition 17, "The primary colors should be used
"on the upper portions of objects, the secondary and
"tertiary on the lower."
To social issues, such as Proposition 37,
"No improvement can take place in the art of the
"present generation until all classes, Artists,
"Manufacturers, and the Public, are better educated
"in Art, and the existence of general principles is
"more fully recognized."
Jones also pioneered book binding techniques,
using unexpected materials, like paper mache
and terra cotta.
He reintroduced historical processes,
such as embossed leather and gilding,
as a way to illuminate the richly colored
interior of a book.
This approach to bookmaking was closer to medieval
illuminated manuscripts and religious books
than industrial age, inexpensive and
mass produced books.
The solutions are unique and remarkable.
Jones was one of the first proponents of a return
to skill and craft, rejecting quantity
and the machine made.
The Grammar of Ornament introduced
architects, designers and graphic artists
to a style that embraced a more logical
and simpler aesthetic over Victorian and Gothic excess.
But, this was an approach that continued to be
about an ornamental veneer, not a holistic approach.