PRESERVATION OF WALLPAPERS AS PARTS OF INTERIORS

Historic types of wallpaper and decorative schemes of interiors
The theme of the prints referred to the function and importance
of the room. It is interesting to note, however, that the
use of such decoration was not restricted by the function of the
room: it was used in bedrooms, dressing rooms, dining rooms,
billiard rooms, halls and corridors, galleries and cabinets. The
prints reflected the personal taste of the patron, or his or her
political, social and religious interests. The fashion of visiting
classical architectural sites in Rome and Greece was expressed
in a series of graphic prints, which could readily be displayed
on the walls. Since the rooms represented very individual taste,
each room told a rich story. 98
Interestingly, the room’s function did not dictate the choice
of wall colour. This decorative fashion continued well into
the 19th century and experienced a rebirth in the late 20th
century, with books of prints and borders designed for this
purpose. 99
In Germany, Rococo decoration was replaced by the new
ideal of simplicity, the style of Neo-Classicism. This meant no
magnificent palaces with festive gardens in the French style, but
rather simple estates connected with side buildings and landscape
parks that could be partially used for agriculture. 100
According to Caspar Voghts (1752–1839), a contemporary
house should have prettier interiors than one would expect
from the facade. 101
Starting in 1760 German interiors became gradually influenced
by the works of the brothers Adam and their circle. The practical
and functional were mixed with modest elegance, which occurred
most commonly in furniture design, but also in interiors. 102
An article published in the Journal des Luxus und der
Moden in 1787 described a decorative scheme made up of plain
one-coloured fields framed by contrasting borders. It referred
98
Ibidem.
99
Miller, The Style Sourcebook, 239.
100
Thümmler, Die Geschichte der Tapete, 85.
101
Günther, Grundmann, Renata Klée-Gobert, The architectural and art monuments of
the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg. Vol 2: Altona and Elbvororte (Hamburg:
Ed Gunther of Grundmann, Hamburg, 1959), 210.
102
Bärbel Hedinger and Julia Berger, Karl Friedrich Schinkel: Möbel und Interieur
(München: Deutscher Kunstverlag, 2002), 32.
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