Illustration: C F A Voysey. Demon wallpaper, 1889.
One of Charles Francis Annesley Voysey's most memorable and to some, either disturbing or inappropriate decorative ideas for a domestic interior wallpaper was that designed by him in 1889 and called simply Demon.
The design in total consists of merely a demon motif surrounded or even perhaps clothed, with burning flames. The motif is tightly and endlessly repeated, producing a flaming wall of colour and implied texture.
The idea of a demon or gargoyle face endlessly repeated in a sea of burning flame does not at first seem as if it were a fitting theme for a Victorian interior. However, what is particularly interesting about the wallpaper design is the fact that at a distance the demon face and indeed the sea of flames becomes unidentifiable and even indistinguishable, so that the wallpaper becomes a fairly innocuous, but richly colourful decorative wall of sinuous foliage or flower petals. It is only when seen close up that the demon becomes obviously visible.
This Victorian optical joke, as it seems that it could be little else, can be seen much more clearly when looking at a composite of twelve versions of the above illustration that I have put together in Photoshop. The resulting illustration below clearly, or perhaps unclearly, shows that from a distance there was little to confuse or disturb the individual of a more nervous disposition.
Illustration: C F A Voysey. Demon wallpaper, 1889.
Voysey was keen on using various versions of optical trickery in his decorative work for wallpaper design. Flora and particularly fauna were used as pattern motifs. Animals were sometimes partially shown in the decorative form so that they were little more than shapes that could be used to promote the overall pattern of the wallpaper design. However, even though he used a considerable amount of unusual sources for his decorative work, anything from Alice in Wonderland to burning heart motifs, this particular Demon wallpaper has got to stand out as one of the most unusual decorative schemes produced by any wallpaper or textile designer.
Voysey's Demon wallpaper is still available for anyone interested in livening up a living room, or even bedroom. Trustworth Studios produce the Demon wallpaper along with a number of other designs by Voysey, as well as other icons of the nineteenth and early twentieth century decorative arts such as E W Godwin, M P Verneuil, C R Mackintosh, L P Butterfield and Kate Faulkner. The link to Trustworth Studios website can be found below in the reference links section.
Further reading links:
Trustworth Studios
Voysey, C.F.A.
Decorative Designs of C F A Voysey
C.F.A. Voysey: An Architect of Individuality
Charles F. A. Voysey, Architect
C. F. A. Voysey: Architect, Designer, Individualist
C.F.A.Voysey: Architect and Designer, 1857-1941
C. F. A. Voysey - decorative design
Arts and Crafts Houses of C. F. A. Voysey
The Arts and Crafts Designs of C.F.A. Voysey: Book of Postcards
The Decorative Designs of C.F.A. Voysey from The Drawings Collection, the British Architectural Library, the Royal Institute of British Architects
The Arts Connected with Building: Lectures on Craftsmanship and Design Delivered at Carpenters Hall, London Wall, for the Worshipful Company of Carpenters
The wallpaper designs of C.F.A. Voysey
C.F.A. Voysey,: A memoir
International Arts and Crafts
Individuality
The Arts & Crafts Companion
