William De Morgan
was born in the United Kingdom of the 19th century , he
was one of the most known english ceramic, potter and also tile
designer artist. He was a very close associate of the Pre-Raphaelite
luminaries William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones, his style was
unique. His father, Augustus De Morgan was the first Professor of
Mathematics at the newly founded University College London and his
motherSofia Elizabeth Frend, campaigned alongside Elizabeth Fry in
the early 19th century to promote prison reform and held strong views
on religious liberty and women's suffrage.
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Was his style really
unique ?
( During the end of the
19th century there was a rise in “orientalism”
spreading throughout europe. he borrowed from many persian and
asian styles and incorporated them into his designs )
Who influenced him ?
Who influenced him ?
My opinion, conclusion
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Was his style really
unique as some resources say , I put down this question because
during the research I found similar looking pottery design techniques
which were used in earlier ages , specially in asian countries . If
you going to compere his pottery , ceramic works and for example
chinese pottery and ceramic design from earlier age you can see
similar features like using plenty of colors , flower patterns which
cover whole product they work on , mythological animals who are
many times placed all over the product in different motion or angle
and also scenes from normal life.
At his beginning of his
career he worked with lot of people and one of them was William
Morris who , I would say , helped him to create his own personal
style of technique. I checked some works of William Morris I found
out that he might inspire Morgan in terms of using large-scale of
colors and flower patterns all over .
I have to admit that I
like his work and technique he used and what I find very interesting
is fact that lot of time had to be spent and precise work had to be
done to make final nice looking product , but what seems to me weird
about his works is that some resources say his style was unique , but
my opinion is that his style was not unique at all , I think he did
not even come up with some revolutionary or innovating idea of
designing pottery , ceramics . I do not want to say that he just
checked persian and asian techniques and copied them but he for sure
was inspired by them and he borrowed some features and techniques.
I do not want to
speak about him just in negative way , like he did not come up with
something new or he was not unique , so I think If they talk about
unique style they mean he was definitely unique in Europe or at least
in the United Kingdom back in days .
2) William De Morgan (1839—1917) Vase with cover [Online]. Available at: ( http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/images/h2/h2_23.163.2ab.jpg/ (Accessed: 8 March 2011).
3) William De Morgan (1839—1917)
Bottle-shaped Vase [Online]. Available at: ( http://www.victorianweb.org/art/design/demorgan/2.jpg (Accessed: 8 March 2011).
4) William De Morgan (1839—1917) Dish [Online]. Available at: (http://www.victorianweb.org/art/design/demorgan/1.jpg (Accessed: 8 March 2011).
5) William De Morgan (1839—1917) Changer [Online]. Available at: (http://www.victorianweb.org/art/design/demorgan/9.jpg (Accessed: 8 March 2011).
De Morgan designed stained glass, ceramic tiles and painted furniture for The Firm between 1863-1872. He wanted, however, more control over the finishing of his work and so built a kiln in the basement of his home at Fitzroy Square, London.
Here he used his knowledge of chemistry and his gift as an inventor to work on different lustres and glazes. Unfortunately, his enthusiasm for experimentation led to a fire which destroyed the roof, about which "the landlord did not seem at all amiable". De Morgan moved to Chelsea and expanded his business to include a showroom and several painters. His fame was spreading and in 1879 he received a commission to supply Lord Leighton with tiles to match the deep blue Islamic tiles used in the Arab Hall at Leighton House.
His father, Augustus De Morgan (1806-1871), held the first chair of mathematics at University College, London and introduced the abstract approach to algebra.
His mother, Sophia Frend (1809-1892), was a pioneering spiritualist as well as being a campaigner for women’s rights and prison reform.
In 1859 William De Morgan began studies at the Royal Academy, but was not destined to become a painter or sculptor.
In 1863, he started experimenting with techniques to create stained glass and decorated tiles. Contrary to what is commonly assumed, De Morgan never became a partner in William Morris’s Firm, but Morris did market De Morgan’s products and used them in his decorative schemes.
William De Morgan was the most important ceramic artist of the Arts and Crafts Movement. He was born on 16 November 1839 into an intellectual family of French Hugenot descent. William's father, Augustus De Morgan was the first Professor of Mathematics at the newly founded University College London and he is an important figure in the history of the subject. His mother, Sofia Elizabeth Frend, campaigned alongside Elizabeth Fry in the early 19th century to promote prison reform and held strong views on religious liberty and women's suffrage.
In 1859 De Morgan was admitted to the Royal Academy Schools and studied alongside Frederick Walker and Simeon Solomon, who remarked on this "entirely uncommonplace young man; tall, thin, high forehead, aquiline nose and high squeaky voice" - which earned him the nickname "Mouse". Henry Holiday was also in his circle and introduced De Morgan to William Morris. Two years later De Morgan turned his attention to the decorative arts and began his experimentation with stained glass.
In 1863 De Morgan had his first real career break when he met William Morris and the painter Edward Burne Jones. As Morris had not been very successful with ceramics, De Morgan took over the tile production side of the business and soon began designing his own tiles. He collaborated with William Morris for many years.
By 1900 his designs were two generations old and considered a little old fashioned. De Morgan, alongside his partner, the architect Halsey Ricardo, continued work until 1907 but with dwindling success and ill health, he spent much of the year in Florence, Italy with his wife. His work, although highly prized by the avant garde of the day, had never provided a large income for De Morgan. His greatest success was as a novelist. He only began writing when he was 65 but his best-sellers ensured a financially secure old age for him and his wife.
There were many other sides to De Morgan's talents; he designed and made pottery kilns and equipment; sketched ideas for grinding mills and sieves to be used in his workshops; was a knowledgeable chemist; worked on a new gearing system for bicycles; developed telegraph codes and evolved his own system of accounts. He even wrote to the Admiralty during the First World War with his suggestions of how they might destroy U-boats. However, his lasting legacy is his ceramics and the De Morgan Foundation is fortunate in owning a large collection of the finest examples of his work.
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