Arts and Crafts movement

The Arts and crafts movement was a style that they wanted to create something traditional and creative. This type of style was handmade and they wanted to not use any machines. The characteristics of Arts and crafts movement looked at simplicity of forms, inspired from plants and nature to a more geometric, plain linear and abstract forms. This movement helped the craftsmen ship to take pride of his work and skill. Machinery works couldn`t produce beautiful designs opposed to the hand crafting skill. The conditions found in factories led to bad working conditions and where often brutalized, this movement took a step forward to create safer working places. This style was developed in England during the latter half of the 19^th Century.

This movement brought many artists which were inspired by the social reform such as Walter Crane and John Ruskin, together with the ideals of reformer and designer, William Morris. In this period, manufacture goods were often poor in design and quality. The works were produce beautiful objects that exhibited the result of fire craftsmen ship. The ideas came from different sources such as Medieval European and Islamic. In the early Art and crafts forms were also had ideas from Japanese.

This type of Art was spread around the countries such as California, Spanish architecture, Native American design et c.... If we look at John Ruskin`s work we can see his creation on the ancient building. This painting is called “John Ruskin in his study at Brentwood, 1881, but the proper painter that he painted him was W.G.Collingwood. He was fascinated and inspired from William Morris to found the society for the protection of Ancient Buildings. Ruskin was the one of the greatest figures of the Victorian age, poet, artist, critic, social revolutionary and conservationist. I was interested from his drawings and also from showing his importance on the art and crafts movement.

This is John Ruskin in his study at Brentwood,1881, by W.G.Collingwood.

Another interesting furniture manufacturer, design leader, publisher and the chief proselytizer for the American craftsman style and an extension of the British Arts and Crafts movement is Gustav Stickley. He showed his importance by trying to design decent look on furniture at affordable prize for the middle class consumers. He had opened ‘Stickley Company’. I also like the fact that he created and invented different design on furniture and the colour that he put on every place was brilliant and combined well. He was looking at the simpler, rectilinear American Art and Crafts form that was very eye-catchy.

This is the interior design on furniture by Gustav Stickley.

Resource:

Jirousek.C. 1995. The Arts and Crafts movement[online]. Available at

< char.txa.cornell.edu/art/decart/artcraft/artcraft.htm>