Illustration: Front cover of Pugin the Pattern Designer.
Just to let you all know that another ebook title has just rolled off the press. Pugin the Pattern Designer takes a look at A W N Pugin the pattern designer, rather than as is usual, the architect. Pugin was a consummate decorative artist with an intrinsic understanding of both colour and line. The book concentrates on two of Pugin's most popular and decoratively stunning titles, The Glossary of Ecclesiastical Ornament and Costume published in 1844, and Floriated Ornament which was published in 1849. Both titles give strong evidence as to the skill that Pugin directed towards his own personal textile, ceramic and wallpaper output, but also gives an indication as to how popular and influential his decorative work proved to be on the decorative arts during an after his lifetime.
Illustration: Sample pages from Pugin the Pattern Designer.
Pugin was an excellent draughtsman and understood pattern, decoration and ornament on such a fundamental level that it sometimes seems surprising that he is not as widely known as some of his contemporary Victorians. Rich colours and strident lines showed in much of his work and it was this confidence in decoration that perhaps made him so influential at least amongst succeeding generations of designers. C F A Voysey in particular held Pugin up as one of his main influences as far as pattern work was concerned.
Illustration: Sample pages from Pugin the Pattern Designer.
Pugin was also a reformer and understood that the vocabulary of pattern and decoration needed certain rules in order to suit the needs of the discipline it found itself in. he was a firm believer that surface pattern should be as flat and graphically motivated as possible and therefore much of his decorative work shows this belief.
I hope this book proves useful to anyone interested in the history of pattern work. The title can be bought by going to the Ebook page on the blog, or just clicking on the cover of the book as seen on the right hand side of the blog.
Illustration: Sample page from Pugin the Pattern Designer.
