ASHMOLEAN COLOUR REVOLUTION SHOWCASES VICTORIAN ART, FASHION AND DESIGN

Image: Jove Decadent, Despres del ball, Ramon Casas, oil on canvas, 1899. Photo © Museu de Montserrat

A show which aims to dispel our monochrome idea of Victorian Britain is at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. As Britain’s industrial revolution gained pace, new scientific breakthroughs allowed the Victorians to become increasingly revolutionary in their use of colour, with new hues greeted with both excitement and suspicion. This explosion of colour was embraced by artists, designers and many others.

Historically, brightly coloured clothing had been the preserve of the wealthy and powerful. That changed in 1856 when William Henry Perkin, an 18-year-old chemistry student invented the first synthetic dye, which he called ‘mauveine’. Following mauveine’s introduction in 1858, purple became a wildly popular fashion trend. Women ordered dresses, parasols, handbags – even stockings and corsets in the colour du jour. In the privacy of the domestic sphere, men also took the opportunity to introduce colour to their wardrobes with ornate slippers and elegant smoking jackets.

Fashion pieces from Queen Victoria’s monotone mourning dress to the most daringly vivid clothing and accessories are on display at the exhibition. It features works by artists including Millais, Ruskin, Rossetti, Turner and Whistler, as well as objects from around the world and some of the earliest colour 'photograms'. It reveals the vital role that colour has played in shaping our art and culture and offers a rare opportunity to see some of these objects on public display.

The exhibition continues until February 2024 at the Ashmolean. More details are available on the website.