The Crisis of the Renaissance, 1520–1600 by André Chastel (review)

264 Books Elton feels, however, that were Klingender alive today he might well modify some of his negative views on Victorian taste. There is now abundant evidence that 19th-century mass production and new industrial processes actually stimulated popular art forms that were quite as attractive as the 'peasant art' that preceeded mechanization. The Crystal Palace, built in 1851, was an example of the new standardization, mass production and popular taste. It is considered now one of the great architectural monuments of Britain. Nevertheless, the author points out that large segments of the middle and upper classes lost their appreciation of design. Appalled by the industrial landscape, yet enriched by the very squalor it engendered, they retreated into parlours and drawing rooms stuffed with bric-a-brac. In order to separate themselves from the new proletariat of the cities, they erected a sterile system of privilege and gentility derived from aristocratic principles of the past. There were two kinds of escapist: the literate dedicated minority, represented by William Morris, and the art-for-art's-sake movement ofOscar Wilde. The latter sought a way out of the impasse by a retreat into earlier modes ofwork and thought. In about 1778, Joseph Wright of Derby appeared on the scene. He became a very important painter and a designer of ceramics for the Wedgewood Potteries and was interested in the nature of light. Wright was probably the first professional painter to express the spirit of the Industrial Revolution. In Chapter 4, 'Documentary Illustration', Klingender explains that technology and the graphic arts were closely linked. Wood cutting was the first method of duplicating design and pictures. However , from about 1830, lithography drove out almost all other techniques. Technical illustration passed through much the same sequence of styles as did graphic art. Taking artistic liberty, the illustrators changed perspective and background to suit subject matter. Chapter 5 is entitled 'The Sublime and the Picturesque'. Here we find topographical drawings used to romantisize and dramatize the mills and coal pits. One receives a sense of uncontrolled power from these works. The chapter on 'Age of Despair' follows, pointing out a certain disillusionment with the high hopes that had been placed in industrialization . This period also marked the debut in 1804 of the first railway locomotive by Richard Trevithick . By the 1830's, regular railway and steamship services were established. Nevertheless, the general moroseness existed and the famous Luddite riots errupted in the North. Workers in their misery turned on machines and attempted to destroy them. Child labor ofthat day comes as a shock to us today in advanced technology countries. A depressing example is the case of the New Lanack Mills. Children from workhouses and charities of Edinburgh entered the factories from the age of 6 and worked from 6 in the morning to 7 in the evening, summer and winter. After 11 hours on their feet, these unfortunates began their day's schooling! The Age ofDespair drew literary people into writing for and against industrialization. It was in 1818 that Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley created the symbol of 'Frankenstein', expressing a fear that technology might cease to be a servant ofman and might instead become his master and destroyer. With this public attitude prevailing, even simple works of contemporary engineers took on a sinister appearance. The mood of despondency led to the 19th-century taste for the sublime. Escape into the sublime and the sentimental was reflected in the extravagant dress of certain classes of workmen, particularly the miners. Chapter 7, 'The Railway Age', opens with a quote from the Rev. Edward Stanley, who reminded his readers that the aim of all creation, science and art alike, is human happiness. This sentiment was no doubt shared by the pioneer capitalists of the 18th century. Their outlook retained, however, many aspects of aristocratic paternalism. Among those who devoted most of their time and fortune to philanthropic paternalism was Wm. Alexander Madocks. He reclaimed land and built a complete new town called Tremadoc. In spite of many ups and downs, Tremadoc remains a model of 18thcentury town planning. On the other hand, in the first half of the 19th century, a new type of industrialist emerged, whose...