Aestheticism, a design style popular in the second half of the 19th century, emphasised the importance of art above everything else and the pleasure to be found in beautiful things. In 2011, the V&A hosted the major exhibition 'The Cult of Beauty - The Aesthetic Movement 1860-1900'.
Style Guide: Aestheticism
Aestheticism was an approach to life based on the philosophy of 'art for art's sake'. It emphasised the importance of art above everything else and the pleasure to be found…
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Aestheticism -The Cult of Beauty
In the 1860s the new and exciting 'Cult of Beauty' united, for a while at least, romantic bohemians such as Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Morris, Edward Burne-Jones and W…
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The Story of Alma-Tadema and the Epps Family
Lawrence Alma-Tadema was a talented furniture designer and a leading Victorian painter. He worked on this screen with his pupil, Laura Epps.
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Interactive: Silk Velvet Tea Gown, by Liberty & Co., 1894
This gown would have been worn as a 'tea gown', as an informal 'at home' dress for the late afternoon, or even as a simple dinner dress.
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Artistic Circles: Design and Decoration in the Aesthetic Movement
Artists' houses and their gardens formed a distinct and influential strand in Victorian architecture and decoration, eliciting public interest and cov…
Buy nowEvent - Introducing William Blake
Mon 24 June 2013 13:00
GALLERY TALK: Join Bryony as she introduces you to some of the themes of Blake's work through examples from the galleries and Prints and Drawings Study room.
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