The Arts and Crafts Movement was one of the most influential, profound and far-reaching design movements of modern times. It began in Britain around 1880 and quickly spread across America and Europe before emerging finally as the Mingei (Folk Crafts) movement in Japan.
It was a movement born of ideals. It grew out of a concern for the effects of industrialisation: on design, on traditional skills and on the lives of ordinary people. In response, it established a new set of principles for living and working. It advocated the reform of art at every level and across a broad social spectrum, and it turned the home into a work of art.
Information taken from:
http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/t/the-arts-and-crafts-movemen
Some examples of the Arts and crafts movements:
Some artists that were in the Arts and crafts movments :
The two most influential figures were the theorist and critic
John Ruskin and the designer, writer and activist
William Morris.
Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.
John Ruskin
His writings predicted and commented on social issues such as environmentalism, sustainability, craftsmanship, and fulfilling labor. Most importantly for the Arts and Crafts Movement to come, Ruskin called for a revival of traditional craftsmanship and a return to the spiritual values of handcrafting from natural materials.
Ruskin was keenly interested in the Gothic Revival and promoted that the preservation and restoration of the Gothic architecture of the Middle Ages was a vital activity. During this period Ruskin also began writing in support of Pre-Raphaelitism and Pre-Raphaelite artists.
Taken from:
http://www.arts-and-crafts-style.com/John-Ruskin.html
Environmentalism or Environmental rights is a broad philosophy, ideology and social movement regarding concerns for environmental protection and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks to incorporate the concerns of non-human elements.
Theology is the systematic and rational study of concepts of God and of the nature of religious ideas, but can also mean the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university, seminary, or school of divinity.
Alponse Mucha
Painter and Decorator
First painting that started his career was of a raging actress that needed a poster for her play.From then him and his style became renowned. His paintings include figures in a very colourful painting style.From his first job he was then entered into a 6 year contract.
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde
as an Irish playwright, novelist, essayist, and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s.Known for his biting wit, flamboyant dress and glittering conversation, Wilde became one of the best-known personalities of his day.The Marquess was the father of Wilde's lover, Lord Alfred Douglas. The charge carried a penalty of up to two years in prison. The trial unearthed evidence that caused Wilde to drop his charges and led to his own arrest and trial for gross indecency with men. After two more trials he was convicted and imprisoned for two years' hard labour.
His burial;
Wilde was initially buried in the Cimetière de Bagneux outside Paris; in 1909 his remains were disinterred and transferred to Père Lachaise Cemetery, inside the city.His tomb was designed by Sir Jacob Epstein,commissioned by Robert Ross, who asked for a small compartment to be made for his own ashes which were duly transferred in 1950. The modernist angel depicted as a relief on the tomb was originally complete with male genitalia which have since been vandalised; their current whereabouts are unknown. In 2000, Leon Johnson, a multimedia artist, installed a silver prosthesis to replace them.
