On January 29, 2010, at Towson University in Maryland, Brad Braden, professor of biochemistry at Bowie State University, explained the development of the design talents of Dr. Christopher Dresser (1834-1904) who described himself as an artist, architect, inventor, botanist, and ornamentalist.
Early Years
Dr. Braden explained that Christopher Dresser’s early art education at the School of Design blended design and function. He became a star pupil of botanical illustrator Richard Redgrave and learned the art of medical illustration.
At the Great Exhibition of 1851 he was amused at the popular but overly-ornate designs on display of household objects such as fireplaces and stoves. He decided then and there that he wanted to make designs that were cheaper and more useful so that items could be brought into common houses.
Dresser contributed ideas to his mentor’s book A Grammar of Ornament in which he experimented with designs not entirely realistic but with the influence of flowers like daffodils and irises and leaves in a slightly stylized fashion. In 1862 he wrote The Art of Decorative Design in which he sets forth his design theory that art can be created mathematically.
Fascination with Abstraction
Dresser next moved into abstraction, adding the ideas of Art Nouveau into his designs. He also played with the symmetry of botanical forms resembling flowers, leaves, stems, pistils, and stamens.
Much of his early work includes “grotesques,” often in what appear to be the shapes of an owl or bat. He despised the art of realism and still-lifes in particular, saying that “taste is not just chance-work.” He criticized John Ruskin by saying that “pictorial art” was little more than derivative and imitative.
And he continued to come up with new artistic designs that could be stenciled, stamped, and manufactured for everyday use. In 1861 he wrote the catalog for the London Exposition which made his ideas well-known. He started providing designs for English manufacturers. Financially he became quite successful; eventually up to 50 manufacturers used his creations.
By the time of the Paris Exposition of 1867, he was involved with trade, design, and manufacturing with Japan.
Dresser’s Designs
Dresser’s main design competitor was William Morris, but Dresser was much more prolific. Where Morris sold 30 handmade designs for wallpaper in his entire career, Dresser sold 30 in one day. Dresser’s designs, specializing in botanical forms, were beautiful, useful and cheap so that they could be used for everyday purchase.
If Dresser saw a good design in an object from some point in history, such as Japanese or pre-Columbian, he bought the object if possible and incorporated the ideas into his work. He became very popular in the artistic periods of Art Nouveau, Pop, Modernism, Bauhaus, and Art Deco.
Dresser’s work can be seen today in the Victoria & Albert's permanent collection, including a display in the Victorian section of the British Galleries.
Source:
- Brad Braden art history lecture – “Truth, Beauty, Power: the Origin of Modern Design” – presented by the Society for History and Graphics at Towson University, Towson, Maryland, on January 29, 2010.
Suzanne Hill - Suzanne Moniea Hill studied art history and studio art and has been passionate about art all her life. She believes that people should ...
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