Wallpaper for the Houses of Parliament
Augustus Pugin’s Gothic Revival wallpapers: flat, stylised patterns that respect the surface of the wall.
Augustus Pugin designed the interiors of the new Houses of Parliament in London in the 1840s, with hundreds of patterns for wallpapers, floors, glass and furniture. He held that a wall is flat and that a pattern should not pretend otherwise.
His rules were very important for William Morris and the reform movement. Gothic Revival became one of the most important historical styles of the 19th century.
Materials: Paper, block-printed, often with gold
Manufacture: Printed by makers such as John Gregory Crace for the new Houses of Parliament in London.
Flat patterns without shadows or perspective.
Medieval motifs: pomegranates, lilies, roses and heraldic shields.
Often gold or strong colours on a plain ground.