1846.., Birmingham

1846.., Birmingham

Identifier
2015.428
Transfer of custody
Victoria and Albert Museum
Acquisition
Purchase, Barnard College Gift and funds from various donors, in honor of Danielle O. Kisluk-Grosheide; Marion E. Cohn and Susan Dwight Bliss Gifts, by exchange; The Lesley and Emma Sheafer Collection, Bequest of Emma A. Sheafer, by exchange; funds from various donors, by exchange, 2015
Collection
Technique
Depiction
Production time
Production place

Description

This monumental candelabrum exemplifies the designs of Augustus Welby Northmore Pugun (1812–1852), who was the leading exponent of the Gothic Revival style in England. Pugin’s work is central to the transformation in British design that began in the mid-nineteenth century. He admired what he saw as the honesty and purity of medieval art, and deplored the meaningless repetition of historical motifs. Pugin coined the phrase "Brumagen Gothic," referring to "those inexhaustible mines of bad taste, Birmingham." He designed fittings of all kinds including furniture, textiles and stained glass for church interiors, private homes and government buildings (most famously the House of Lords.) This candelabrum is related to the model he produced for the Palace of Westminster.