Aesthetic Movement Lighting
In 1880, polymath designer William Morris declared: “If you want a golden rule that will fit everybody, this is it: Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.” His words encapsulated the Aesthetic Movement, which prized beauty above all and blurred the lines between fine art and the decorative arts, particularly through lavishly crafted furniture pieces.
The Aesthetic Movement, whose major proponents included author Oscar Wilde, flourished from the 1860s to the 1880s and was mostly popular in England and the United States. Design expositions like the 1876 Centennial International Exhibition in Philadelphia, as well as the publishing of how-to books for interior design, helped disseminate Aesthetic Movement bedroom furniture, serveware, coffee tables and other items, especially to the middle class.
The establishment of new art museums, art clubs and a rising passion for collecting at the time contributed to a growing appreciation for art. Morris’s founding of Morris & Co. in 1862 and the commercializing of this “cult of beauty” by the Liberty store in London, starting in the late 19th century, further disseminated the idea of a domestic space that was thoughtfully and floridly designed.
Leading Aesthetic Movement furniture designers included E.W. Godwin, who drew on Japanese influences and whose work reflected a wider enthusiasm for imported East Asian art. British designer Christopher Dresser created textiles, ceramics and more that were also inspired by Japanese decorative art but were representative of additional diverse design sources that ranged from Egypt to Mexico.
The Aesthetic Movement’s eclecticism resulted in dazzling interiors. Japanese fans were positioned on Renaissance-inspired cabinets with brass hardware, while mantels made of rich walnut or finely carved ebonized wood and adorned with painted Minton tiles mingled with cast-iron chairs against a backdrop of floral wallpaper. In 1881, in New York City, stenciled checkerboard motifs and painted floral murals could be found under an opalescent glass chandelier in a luxurious dressing room designed by German émigré cabinetmaker-decorator George Alfred Schastey. Amid the rise of the industrial age, the style’s promotion of art in everyday life would inform the Arts and Crafts Movement and Art Nouveau.
Find a collection of antique Aesthetic Movement seating, tables, decorative objects and other furniture and antiques on 1stDibs.
21st Century and Contemporary French Aesthetic Movement Lighting
Plaster
2010s Mexican Aesthetic Movement Lighting
Clay, Linen
21st Century and Contemporary French Aesthetic Movement Lighting
Plaster
19th Century Antique Aesthetic Movement Lighting
Bronze, Other
Late 19th Century European Antique Aesthetic Movement Lighting
Bronze
1880s German Antique Aesthetic Movement Lighting
Crystal, Brass
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Lighting
Brass
1880s American Antique Aesthetic Movement Lighting
Brass
Late 19th Century Antique Aesthetic Movement Lighting
Brass
1880s American Antique Aesthetic Movement Lighting
Brass, Bronze
1880s American Antique Aesthetic Movement Lighting
Bronze
1930s Italian Vintage Aesthetic Movement Lighting
Crystal, Brass
1950s French Vintage Aesthetic Movement Lighting
Giltwood
1880s American Antique Aesthetic Movement Lighting
Brass, Bronze
Early 19th Century Italian Antique Aesthetic Movement Lighting
Crystal, Brass
1870s French Antique Aesthetic Movement Lighting
Bronze
Early 19th Century European Antique Aesthetic Movement Lighting
Crystal, Brass
1970s European Vintage Aesthetic Movement Lighting
Walnut
2010s German Aesthetic Movement Lighting
Brass
2010s German Aesthetic Movement Lighting
Brass
Early 1900s Japanese Antique Aesthetic Movement Lighting
Bronze
2010s German Aesthetic Movement Lighting
Brass
2010s German Aesthetic Movement Lighting
Brass
2010s German Aesthetic Movement Lighting
Brass
Late 19th Century French Antique Aesthetic Movement Lighting
Iron
1980s Italian Vintage Aesthetic Movement Lighting
Onyx
1960s Vintage Aesthetic Movement Lighting
Ceramic
20th Century American Aesthetic Movement Lighting
Metal
20th Century Italian Aesthetic Movement Lighting
Art Glass
19th Century Antique Aesthetic Movement Lighting
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary French Aesthetic Movement Lighting
Plaster
19th Century American Antique Aesthetic Movement Lighting
Iron
Early 20th Century American Aesthetic Movement Lighting
Bronze
20th Century Italian Aesthetic Movement Lighting
Art Glass
21st Century and Contemporary European Aesthetic Movement Lighting
Plaster
Early 20th Century Swedish Aesthetic Movement Lighting
Ceramic
2010s Botswanan Aesthetic Movement Lighting
Coade Stone, Art Glass
Early 20th Century American Aesthetic Movement Lighting
Art Glass
1950s Italian Vintage Aesthetic Movement Lighting
Crystal, Brass, Wire
Late 19th Century French Antique Aesthetic Movement Lighting
Bronze
1970s Italian Vintage Aesthetic Movement Lighting
Brass
1870s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Lighting
Stoneware
Early 20th Century American Aesthetic Movement Lighting
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Aesthetic Movement Lighting
Art Glass
Late 20th Century Unknown Aesthetic Movement Lighting
Iron
21st Century and Contemporary French Aesthetic Movement Lighting
Plaster
1880s Antique Aesthetic Movement Lighting
Brass, Copper
Late 19th Century British Antique Aesthetic Movement Lighting
Wrought Iron
1960s Italian Vintage Aesthetic Movement Lighting
Art Glass
19th Century American Antique Aesthetic Movement Lighting
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Aesthetic Movement Lighting
Art Glass
Early 20th Century Japanese Aesthetic Movement Lighting
Bronze, Enamel
1950s Italian Vintage Aesthetic Movement Lighting
Iron
20th Century Italian Aesthetic Movement Lighting
Brass
Mid-20th Century Italian Aesthetic Movement Lighting
Art Glass
1860s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Lighting
Brass
1870s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Lighting
Porcelain
Late 19th Century American Antique Aesthetic Movement Lighting
Porcelain