On Arts & Crafts, Art Nouveau, Aesthetic Victorian & The Charles Alexander Collection

By the time Victoria had been crowned queen of England, Greek Doric columns had sprouted Corinthian capitals. Perfect Gothic arches had become laced with trefoils and tracery. The Renaissance had borrowed classical motifs but added its own version of ornamentation-which then erupted into the Baroque and Louis styles. In the long history of art, there had been a constant struggle between the Classical and the Romantic.

During the nineteenth century all the historical styles were suddenly revived—and even combined. Termed "Victorian," this melange started to change when Japan reopened trade with the West in the 1860s after a self-imposed blockade.

Goods were not the only items swapped, as suddenly the flat perspectives of Japanese prints and their fascination with nature went hand in hand with the new interest in evolution and the origin of species. The Aesthetic movement combined both: what once was an untamed bouquet of flowers transferred directly onto the middle of a plate suddenly became an ordered line of buds melded into a geometric ladder; a circle superimposed on it might contain a lake scene, while on the rim a bird covets a beetle in the foliage. On a fan: in a circle, a be-napkined fox awaits dinner while outside of it, two birds look on. (See Lot 78)

In England, William Morris embraced the familiar quotation "Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."

Among the cacophony of Victorian combos and the quantity and poor quality of mass-produced goods, Morris urged a return to the Medieval tradition of hand craftsmanship and simplicity. Stylized human forms and lettering of the Middle Ages are evident. (Lot 6) Some might deem these florid results too excessive, but compared to the previous ill-designed versions he was up against, they remain simplified and stylized. Forty years after the Pre-Raphaelites (who wished to avoid the excesses of the Baroque), their art was used in the simple Arts & Crafts style frames now typical of that later period. (See Lots 70, 72)

The Victorians had taken the Rococo to an even higher level; slap dash curves soon covered every surface of an item. But Art Nouveau conquered that, giving new purpose to the line.

Instead of six unrelated curves creating a circle, just one curls into the stalk of an iris, which becomes the handle of a pitcher. Flaring into the body of the pitcher, the line soon becomes a full-blown iris flower in relief, and blooms from that curve—which now has meaning. (See Lot 20)

But flower stalks and whiplash lines are not particularly practical as supports for chairs or tables. Gallé and Majorelle furniture tended to be large, and the effort needed to support that weight soon overburdened the pieces. Designers such as Gustave Stickley adopted the motto "Als Ik Kan" (to the best of my ability) with the goals of making the simple sturdy, revealing the construction of the item, and letting that same combination become the ornament itself. Should there be any adornment, it was to be either stylized or abstracted, devoid of any artifice. (See Lots 30, 228, 238, 248)

Textbooks of that era bemoan painting a realistic flower onto a vase which would then be used to hold an example of the actual flower itself. Instead, a portion of the flower might be abstracted, placed artfully one third of the way from the top (perhaps using it three times around the perimeter of the vase), with an interesting glaze added to complement but not conflict with the flower that was displayed within. (See Lots 223, 224)

By decorating a blank plate with a template provided in one of the popular Home Economic books of the day (or better yet, one designed by the homeowner), art and craft could unite in an artistic manner into an artistic home. Home decorators were told not to slap a bouquet in the middle of the plate and paint the color atop it; they were to abstract an element of one of the flowers, placing it discreetly around the border in a neutral or pleasing color. As a result, the food was then enhanced, the design not overpowered, and the decal not obscured by the mashed potatoes. (See Lots 140-143)

A decorator accomplished something on her own: "Art" was crafted onto a table, and therefore a sign of good taste was produced.

Perhaps this abstraction can be explained using the simple Macintosh Rose, an almost geometric idea of a naturalistic form. The architect’s simple lines exemplify the English/Scottish reaction to the more florid curves of the French Art Nouveau, which were both an outgrowth of the earlier Aesthetic ideas. (See Lot 142, 1 of 5)

The Austrian Secessionist geometrics (Lots 107, 109) could be considered more Art Deco, except for their integration into the bodies of the pieces.  The German Jugendstil (Youth Style) placed fern spores as ornament within conical forms, and duck-like feet emerged from sinuous vessels. (See Lot 51) English Tudric ware sports sled-like risers, while that amazing design element remains totally unseen. Conversely, a tray dissolves into the surface upon which it is placed while elevating the floral bedecked pieces on its surface. (See Lot 46)

Planes of wood and organic geometric designs develop into Bauhaus tenets, while whiplash lines tame into circular floral ornaments. All foretell the next wave: Art Deco. Nothing springs from nothing; the long history of art melds one style into another.

Perhaps it is a collector’s search for history that is the beginning of his collecting—turning ultimately into a search for meaning.