| Polychromatics "Polychromatics In Liverpool: Then and Now" September 2007 [1] < -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------> |
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Though the use of polychromatic brickwork dates back to the early medieval period it is the Gothic Revival which has brought it to prominence in the architectural world. As Brunskill succinctly sums up “…the great age of polychromatic brickwork was the Victorian…” (1990 p58). Polychromatic brickwork was a major element in the European architectural style for the later part of the nineteenth century. “Few brick buildings of the Gothic Revival were without an alternation of blue and red, or yellow and red, bricks in window arches. Many used blue, red and yellow or white bricks in stripes, chequerboard and diaper patterns inside and out” (Brunskill 1990 p58). The use of polychromatics was not restricted to major commissions, but can be found in every form of building throughout the Victorian era e.g. warehouses, railways station, churches, mansions, law courts, offices, hotels, and public buildings. Brunskill (1990) also notes how simple devices were employed in buildings such as terraced houses, pubs, shops, farm building and workshops to emphasis the architectural design of the building. He sums this up as being able to “…create brickwork at its most vital if not necessarily at its most agreeable.” (p 59). Collins (1965) outlines that the Victorian approach to polychromatics is remarkable due to the shift in focus to the exterior of the building form. Though many earlier buildings display the use of internal polychromy the 19th century approach displayed specifically Victorian characteristics. The resurrection of polychromatic materials on Victorian architecture stems again from the Revival movement and the study of architectural history both in England and in Continental Europe. As Brunskill identifies polychromatics resulted from: “the combination of two movements: one was the restoration to favour exposed brickwork after the regency period, when stucco was popular and the alternative to masonry was utilitarian brickwork (sometimes of poor quality) stuccoed and lined-out in imitation of masonry; the other was the desire to follow Italian Gothic precedent in polychromatic work whatever the building material.” (1990 p 58) It is also considered by some to be a reaction to high levels of industrial soot and airborne contaminants. Two schools of design developed in relation to the practical application of polychromy to buildings, namely Structural Colouration and Venetian Gothic, both of which were inspired by study of Italian architecture. Structural colouration involved the use of structural elements and sandwiching, based on the Pisan and Sienese prototypes. This a rationalist theory as followed by architects such as William Butterfield and GE Street. Venetian Gothic made use of marble veneers to employ colouration to structures independent of the structural form, as championed by Ruskin. Hittorff’s work in 1829 (cited in Collins 1965 p 111) first brought to light the use of exterior polychromatics by the ancient Greeks, but was of little influence in the English architectural field. Classical revival buildings in Britain were therefore generally designed to be monochrome. The work by Lassaulx, a German pioneer of constructive architecture, anticipated English constructional polychromy by more than a decade. His 1839 publication ‘Beschreibun einer neuen Art Mosaik aus Backsteinen’ (Description of a new Kind of Mosaic Composed of Bricks) is credited by Germann (1972) for the design for the Church of St Arnulph at Nickenich in 1846 which displays the use of polychromatics translated into stonework. Though this was influential on the continent it failed to make any impact in Britain (Germann 1972). Alfred Bartholomew’s dismissal of German polychromatics as “poly-gewgawdery” at about this time was of a wider influence and polychromatics were simply dismissed as a fad. The final ‘polychromatic picturesque’ phase of the Victorian Gothic Revival in England is attributed largely to the writing of John Ruskin (Jenkins 1992). Though the work of Pugin was highly influential during the 1840s, he was overtaken by the fame & influence of Ruskin. Along with French architect Viollet-Le-Duc, Ruskin’s research and discussions of building surfaces and ornamentation was some of the most influential architectural work at the time in Europe. Of further influence was Benjamin Webb’s 1845 lecture ‘Church Architecture in the Tropics’ illustrating the medieval precedents for constructional polychromy in Italy. Plumridge and Meulenkamp (1993) also attribute the rise in coloured brickwork to the influence of John Ruskin, but note that the contemporary architect Halsey Ricardo may have been correct when he said, “… red building arose more, I think, as a protest against the monotony and colourlessness of our streets. Now we have tasted blood – so to speak - we want more, and we want it permanent.” (1897 cited by Plumridge and Meulenkamp 1993) Ruskin’s ‘Seven Lamps of Architecture,’ published in 1849, set out a part aesthetic and part moralistic thesis on architecture and made heavy reference to nature and biological analogy. This work stemmed from Ruskin’s dislike of the “…cold formalism of classical and Renaissance building…” Jenkins (1992 p 7), and his fascination with the polychromatic richness of the medieval Italian Gothic architecture and its polychrome mouldings and details. The subject is re-visited later in Ruskin’s ‘The Stones of Venice,’ published in instalments between 1851 and 1853. Each chapter of Ruskin’s 1849 work was held as a lamp to cast light on the ‘murky depths’ of Victorian architectural theory. In the Lamp of Beauty Ruskin concluded that “…I hold this then for the first great principle of architectural colour: let it be visibly independent of form” (1849 cited in Collins 1965). His design approach included the use of irregular masses and zones of colour, spots of various shapes and dimensions, chequers and zig-zag patterns. Ruskin highlighted many ways of achieving surface patters and colour combinations, and advocated the use of these to organise the walls of a building, the use of banded wall construction. He was also fond of the use of flint and brick construction to mirror the horizontal internal spaces within the building, and the light and dark influences of the natural world. The Lamp of Truth is key to Ruskin’s architectural stylings and his support for the use of polychromatic patterns. Jenkins (1992) sums this up succinctly by saying “Truth is a key element in Ruskin’s argument for polychromy in which he advocates the direct expression of multi-coloured materials…” (p7). Deane and Woodwards design for the London Crown Life Insurance Building is considered to be a direct result of Ruskins work using seven types of stone to form the Venetian gothic style. Ruskin advocated the use of stone as he considered brick an inferior material. He was not alone in this view. Brunskill (1990) notes that prominent contemporary publication ‘The Ecclesiologist’, published by The Ecclesiological Society, were brick sceptic for many years. Brick however, was still the cheaper material in most British towns (Collins 1965) which is why much of the polychromatic work of the Victorian era chooses to ignore this particular tenet of Ruskin’s architectural framework. In this way it can seen that though Ruskin’s ideas of using polychromatics as a decorative form were widely adopted the philosophical arguments as to how and why were lost or simply ignored along the way. Ruskin was not the only architect to appreciate and publish works relating to the influence of Italian architecture. Also influential in Britain was the publication by George Edmund Street of the ‘Brick and Marble Architecture of the Middle Ages in Italy’ in 1855, George Gilbert Scott’s ‘Remarks on Secular and Domestic Architecture’ in 1858, and Lacroux’s ‘La Brick Ordinaire’ in 1878. These books provided illustrations of Italian details, polychromatic brickwork, and imagined patterns of building decorations for use by the architectural world. Owen Jones work ‘Grammar of Ornament’ is considered by Jenkins (1992) to be “…particularly influential…” (p7). Polychromatic usage during the Victorian era peaked in the design style know as Brick Gothic. Plumridge and Meulenkamp acknowledge William Butterfield as the “…master of polychrome brickwork…” and give special mention to All Saints’ Church (1850-9) which is considered by Jenkins to make “…a key break with the accepted practice of the period by using banded brickwork instead of stone for the facades…” (1992 p8). The building displays constructional polychromy of red and black brick in horizontal patterns set beside Bath stone dressings and architraves. [2 Building Decoration >>>] copyright of danceswithgoths [References] [CULTURE] [HOME] |
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