PRESERVATION OF WALLPAPERS AS PARTS OF INTERIORS

Historic types of wallpaper and decorative schemes of interiors
emptiness were to be avoided. Due to the mechanized production
of wallpapers, different price categories developed. Luxurious
wallpapers meant for wealthy customers were still produced
by hand, while cheaper wallpapers were printed mechanically.
Besides printing methods, another important feature in price
development was the material.
Collecting historical objects and “curiosities” became popular
in the middle of the century. A considerable influence on
this fashion came from various artists and their studios. Good
examples are the paintings and atelier of Hans Makart in Vienna,
which became a kind of symbol of historicist interiors. 120 Such
interiors were considered to be suitable settings for collections of
antiques and curiosities. Fashionable rooms were decorated with
richly decorated wallpapers in dusky colours. In addition to the
aforementioned decór-complets, there was abundant production
of repetitive ornaments. One of the most popular patterns contained
naturalistic plants and flowers, especially cabbage roses.
A strong influence on pattern design came from exposure,
through conquest or exploration, to foreign countries. For example,
during the 1860s Japan ended its nearly complete exclusion of
foreigners, which meant a livelier exchange of goods. One result
was the crystallization of the Aesthetic Movement in Europe,
which was expressed in Western textiles through the adoption
of entire patterns or individual motifs, and “sad” tones of yellow
and olive green. 121 The design principles of the Aesthetic Movement
formed the basis for the later Art Nouveau style.
Common colour combinations of the majority of 19th century
patterns tended to have very strong contrasts, for example
a combination of vivid green with grey, strong harsh red with
brown, or a brilliant shade of blue paired with brown. However,
besides stylish wallpapers, manufacturers produced papers with
small and plain patterns, which could be combined with matching
borders and fit a more classical setting.
120
Isabella Ackerl, Vienna Modernism 1890–1910, accessed January 3, 2013,
http://www.bka.gv.at/DocView.axd?CobId=5035.
121
Mary Schoeser, World Textiles. A Concise History (London: Thames & Hudson, World of
Art, 2003), 133.
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