Colour Revolution: Victorian Art, Fashion and Design

Fascinating exhibition at the Ashmolean Museum looking at colour in Victorian Britain.

I had assumed it was going to be about the dyes that were invented in the 19th century but it was much more complex. After a quick look at why we think of the Victorian era as dark it then examined different aspects of colour from Ruskin’s calls to represent the natural world and its colours, through the revival in Medieval colours and the effect of Darwin and the recording of species of animals.

It also looked at colours which came from global expansion on both via colonialism and the opening up of Japan.

There was a section on dyes and the greater supply of colours for colouring. I particularly loved the brightly coloured stockings.

A real discovery from me was the idea of the Tanagra craze, polychrome terracotta statuettes from the 4th century BCE. It explained how the style and soft colours influenced artists like Whistler. I’d not come across them before.

Closed 18 February 2024. 


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