Aestheticism as seen in British Tiles in the 1870s and 80s

Abstract

Aesthetic phenomenon spread in Britain in the 1870s and 80s. Aestheticism is the view that works of art should be judged by strictly aesthetic criteria and that their value has nothing to do with their moral, political, or religious utility. But aestheticism had another aspect which had a strong influence on people's life-style and taste, particularly of the middle classes. 'Art Industry' took a significant role in this phenomenon with various products labelled 'aesthetic' and 'art'. One of major industries in this period was the manufacture of Decorative Tiles. From surveys of tile catalogues from 1840s to 1910s, the greatest variety of designs and 'Art Tile' designs were made in the 1870s and 80s. Many of them have light and elegant expressions. Particularly 'Art Tiles' have a naturalistic expression using hand-painted techniques. By coincidence the housing boom took place at this time. Wealthy middle class families were moving to new houses. The advice supplied in handbooks on aesthetic home decorating was based on the assumption that domestic decor should express personal chracter. The tiles were adopted as one of ways to make their houses beautiful. Tile industry in this period produced many variations of design and offered products for the public to find a taste.