The term "applied art" refers to the application (and resulting product) of artistic
design to utilitarian objects in everyday use. Whereas works of fine arthave no
function other than providing aesthetic or intellectual stimulation to the viewer,
works of applied art are usually functional objects which have been "prettified" or
creatively designed with both aesthetics and function in mind. Applied art embraces
a huge range of products and items, from a teapot or chair, to the walls and roof of
a railway station or concert hall, a fountain pen or computer mouse.
History
The first applied art to be practised in a major way was architecture. From the Egyptian
Pyramids, the Ziggurats of Sumer and the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, to the
precisely organized proportions of Greek temples and the enduring engineering quality of
Roman viaducts and bridges, architects combine aesthetics with mathematics to design a
functional but pleasing structure. Since then, the demands of the modern world have
included housing and commercial projects, notably high-rise buildings and skyscrapers. For
details, see: Skyscraper Architecture (1850-present).
During this evolution, architectural styles have been influenced by numerous schools and
movements, including: Romanesque (c.775-1050), Gothic (c.1150-1280), International
Gothic (c.1300-1500), Renaissance (c.1400-1530), Mannerism (c.1530-1600), Baroque
(c.1600-1700), Rococo (c.1700-50), Neoclassicism (c.1750-1815), Greek and Gothic
Revival (c.1800-1900), Neo-Renaissance and Neo-Romanesque Revival (1849-1880), the
Second Empire style (1850-80), Chicago School of architecture (1880-1910), Art
Nouveau (c.1895-1915), Early Modernism (1900-25), Continental Avant-Garde (1900-
25), Bauhaus Design School (1919-33), Art Deco (1925-40)Totalitarian Architecture
(Germany, USSR, 1928-1940), the utopian urban building designs of Le Corbusier (1887-
1965), Second Chicago School (1940-70), International Style of modernism (1945-1970),
High Tech Corporate Design (1945-2000),Deconstructivism (1980-2000), and Blobitecture
(1990-2000).
Aside from architecture, applied art received its biggest boost from the growth in
commerce during the 19th century, following the Industrial Revolution. Suddenly,
competitive manufacturers and service providers needed to ensure that their
products and services "looked good" as well as functioned properly. This demand
for improved aesthetics led to the establishment of numerous design schools and
courses, from which a new generation of industrial designers emerged. Later, as
the range of products multiplied, and new printing techniques appeared, they were
joined by fashion designers, graphic designers and most recently computer graphics
designers.
In addition to architecture and design, applied art also includes decorative arts.
Early examples include Chinese pottery (from 18,000 BCE), Jomon style Japanese
pottery (from 14,500 BCE), as well as jade carving (from 4900
BCE), lacquerware (from 4500 BCE) and Chinese porcelain (c.100 BCE onwards).
Enamelwork is exemplified by Celtic Metalwork art such as the silver "Gundestrup
Cauldron" (c.100 BCE), the bronze "Petrie Crown" (100 BCE - 200 CE), and the gold
"Broighter Collar/Torc" (1st century BCE), as well as later religious metalwork like
the Ardagh Chalice (8th/9th century CE), and the Derrynaflan Chalice. Tapestry
(see for instance the Bayeux Tapestry) and stained glass were first developed
during the Romanesque and Gothic period, while interior design, fine-furniture,
textiles, glassware and other objets d'art reached new heights during the Rococo
period (18th century) at the French court at the Palace of Versailles. For more
about the mini-renaissance of applied art during the Louis Quatorze (XIV),
Regency, Louis Quinze (XV), and Louis Seize (XVI) periods,
During the last decade of the 19th century the decorative strain of applied art was
re-invigorated by William Morris and the Arts and Crafts Movement, the Celtic Art
Revival Movement, the Belgian artists group known as Les Vingt, the international
Art Nouveau Style (c.1895-1915), exquisite Fabergé Easter Eggs(c.1885-1917), the
Bauhaus Design School in Germany (1919-33) and Art Deco (c.1925-40). One of
the main applications for decorative design work was theatrical sets and costumes,
such as those designed by Leon Bakst(1866-1924) and Alexander Benois (1870-
1960) for the Ballets Russes. Another application was poster art, which became
high fashion during La Belle Epoque in France. Top poster designers included the
lithographer Jules Cheret(1836-1932), the Post-Impressionist Toulouse-Lautrec
(1864-1901), and the Czech Alfonse Mucha (1860-1939). Other figures in
the history of poster art, include Aubrey Beardsley (1872-98), the "Beggarstaff
Brothers", Theophile Steinlen (1859-1923), Eugene Grasset (1845-1917), Albert
Guillaume (1873-1942), Pierre Bonnard (1867-1947), Edouard Vuillard (1868-
1940), the Italian functionalist Leonetto Cappiello (1875-1942), Ludwig Hohlwein,
Lucian Bernhard, Herbert Matter, Fernand Leger, Amedee Ozenfant, the French-
Ukrainian Adolphe Mouron Cassandre, William Bradley and Edward Penfield.
For the sake of simplicity, works of applied art comprise two different types:
standard machine-made products which have had a particular design applied to
them, to make them more attractive and easy-to-use; and individual, aesthetically
pleasing but mostly functional, craft products made by artisans or skilled workers.
Artistic disciplines that are classified as applied arts, include industrial design,
fashion design, interior design, and graphic art and design (including computer
graphics), as well as most types of decorative art (eg. furniture, carpets, tapestry,
embroidery, batik, jewellery, precious metalwork, pottery, goldsmithing,
basketry, mosaic art, and glassware). Illuminated manuscripts and later book
illustration are also classified as applied arts. Architecture, too is best viewed as an
applied art.
