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Eastlake movement
The Eastlake movement was a nineteenth-century architectural and household design reform movement, which although started by the British architect and writer Charles Eastlake (1836–1906), was essentially a North American phenomenon. The movement is generally considered part of the late Victorian period in terms of broad antique furniture designations. In architecture the Eastlake style or Eastlake architecture is part of the Queen Anne style of Victorian architecture.
Eastlake's book Hints on Household Taste in Furniture, Upholstery, and Other Details posited that furniture and decor in people's homes should be made by hand or machine workers who took personal pride in their work. Manufacturers in the United States used the drawings and ideas in the book to create mass-produced Eastlake Style or Cottage furniture.
The geometric ornaments, spindles, low relief carvings, and incised lines were designed to be affordable and easy to clean; nevertheless, many of the designs which resulted are artistically complex.
Although Charles Eastlake did not build furniture himself, he spent his years designing furniture to be built by professional cabinetmakers, among other artistic endeavors. The movement he created influenced the interior design of American homes with English designs that were easy to clean, functional, and simple. The ‘Eastlake’ style is of Victorian architecture and one of the core principles of this style was that Eastlake thought that the furniture in people's homes should be good looking and be made by manufacturers who enjoyed their work. This was contrary to the previous style of furniture, with pieces that were large, heavy, and thick, and that collected dust and germs.
Eastlake movement was named after the English architect Charles Locke Eastlake (nephew of Sir Charles Lock Eastlake) following the release of his influential book Hints on Household Taste in Furniture, Upholstery and Other Details. Eastlake was originally a painter who trained in Rome and was considered to have great knowledge in art however he had a specific preference.
In Hints on Household Taste in Furniture, Upholstery and Other Details, Eastlake promoted Victorian style furniture which had opposed the curved features of the French Baroque Revival Styles. Instead, Eastlake style had "angular, notched and carved" features and although he did not produce any furniture himself, cabinet makers produced them. His book influenced custom designers as well as machine-made manufacturers who Eastlake abhorred. His quote "I find American tradesmen continually advertising what they are pleased to call Eastlake furniture, the production of which I have had nothing whatever to do, and for the taste of which I should be very sorry to be considered responsible" shows his stance on this.
This influence later led to the Eastlake movement in the United States where Eastlake style furniture were being produced for the middle-class. It was known to be affordable while also being handcrafted and easy to clean which shows the transformative nature of Eastlake's ideas to furniture.
Eastlake style applied to houses as well as furniture. Characteristics of these houses include the lathe-shaped wooden forms and mechanical jigsaw wooden forms. Porch posts and railings had intricate wooden designs and curved brackets and scrolls were placed at corners. The façade also included "perforated gables and pediments, carved panels and a profusion of beaded spindles, and lattice work found along porch eaves." Mansardic porches were another characteristic and had wrought iron crestings. The color combination of the houses also emphasized the contrast between the lighter colors of the details and the darker colors of the house body. In the United States, especially in California, American home builders in the 1880s replaced flat-cut gingerbread ornamental elements that were popular in the 1860s and 1870s with lathe-tuned spindlework for balusters and wall surface decoration. Charles Eastlake criticized the American adaptation as "extravagant and bizarre". However, the style lived on and it was later combined with Italianate and Second Empire elements to create the "San Francisco Style".
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Eastlake movement
The Eastlake movement was a nineteenth-century architectural and household design reform movement, which although started by the British architect and writer Charles Eastlake (1836–1906), was essentially a North American phenomenon. The movement is generally considered part of the late Victorian period in terms of broad antique furniture designations. In architecture the Eastlake style or Eastlake architecture is part of the Queen Anne style of Victorian architecture.
Eastlake's book Hints on Household Taste in Furniture, Upholstery, and Other Details posited that furniture and decor in people's homes should be made by hand or machine workers who took personal pride in their work. Manufacturers in the United States used the drawings and ideas in the book to create mass-produced Eastlake Style or Cottage furniture.
The geometric ornaments, spindles, low relief carvings, and incised lines were designed to be affordable and easy to clean; nevertheless, many of the designs which resulted are artistically complex.
Although Charles Eastlake did not build furniture himself, he spent his years designing furniture to be built by professional cabinetmakers, among other artistic endeavors. The movement he created influenced the interior design of American homes with English designs that were easy to clean, functional, and simple. The ‘Eastlake’ style is of Victorian architecture and one of the core principles of this style was that Eastlake thought that the furniture in people's homes should be good looking and be made by manufacturers who enjoyed their work. This was contrary to the previous style of furniture, with pieces that were large, heavy, and thick, and that collected dust and germs.
Eastlake movement was named after the English architect Charles Locke Eastlake (nephew of Sir Charles Lock Eastlake) following the release of his influential book Hints on Household Taste in Furniture, Upholstery and Other Details. Eastlake was originally a painter who trained in Rome and was considered to have great knowledge in art however he had a specific preference.
In Hints on Household Taste in Furniture, Upholstery and Other Details, Eastlake promoted Victorian style furniture which had opposed the curved features of the French Baroque Revival Styles. Instead, Eastlake style had "angular, notched and carved" features and although he did not produce any furniture himself, cabinet makers produced them. His book influenced custom designers as well as machine-made manufacturers who Eastlake abhorred. His quote "I find American tradesmen continually advertising what they are pleased to call Eastlake furniture, the production of which I have had nothing whatever to do, and for the taste of which I should be very sorry to be considered responsible" shows his stance on this.
This influence later led to the Eastlake movement in the United States where Eastlake style furniture were being produced for the middle-class. It was known to be affordable while also being handcrafted and easy to clean which shows the transformative nature of Eastlake's ideas to furniture.
Eastlake style applied to houses as well as furniture. Characteristics of these houses include the lathe-shaped wooden forms and mechanical jigsaw wooden forms. Porch posts and railings had intricate wooden designs and curved brackets and scrolls were placed at corners. The façade also included "perforated gables and pediments, carved panels and a profusion of beaded spindles, and lattice work found along porch eaves." Mansardic porches were another characteristic and had wrought iron crestings. The color combination of the houses also emphasized the contrast between the lighter colors of the details and the darker colors of the house body. In the United States, especially in California, American home builders in the 1880s replaced flat-cut gingerbread ornamental elements that were popular in the 1860s and 1870s with lathe-tuned spindlework for balusters and wall surface decoration. Charles Eastlake criticized the American adaptation as "extravagant and bizarre". However, the style lived on and it was later combined with Italianate and Second Empire elements to create the "San Francisco Style".