Review of the Papered Wall: the History, Patterns and Techniques of Wallpaper by Lesley Hoskins
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University of Rhode Island DigitalCommons@URI Art and Art History Faculty Publications Art and Art History 2006 Review of The Papered Wall: The History, Patterns and Techniques of Wallpaper by Lesley Hoskins Jérémie Cerman Université de Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne Pamela J. Warner University of Rhode Island, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/art_facpubs Part of the History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology Commons Terms of Use All rights reserved under copyright. Citation/Publisher Attribution Cerman, Jérémie. Review of The Papered Wall: The History, Patterns and Techniques of Wallpaper, by Lesley Hoskins. Translated by Pamela J. Warner. Studies in the Decorative Arts 14 (2006): 124-27. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/studdecoarts.14.1.40663294 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Art and Art History at DigitalCommons@URI. It has been accepted for inclusion in Art and Art History Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@URI. For more information, please contact [email protected]. 124 Studiesin theDecorative Arts/Fall-Winter 2006-2007 LesleyHoskins, ecL The PaperedWall: The that the expressionpapiers de tapisserie,originated by the History,Patterns and Techniquesof Wallpaper, wood engraverJean Michel Papillon(who claimedthat his 2nd ed. Londonand New York: Thames& Hudson,2005» father,Jean Papillon II [1661-1723],invented wallpaper in 272 pp.,216 colorpls., 153 b/wills., bibliog., gloss., index. 1688;p. 15) and designatingpapers of higher quality, should Paper, $34.95, £19.95. also be takeninto considerationin any historyof the pre- cursorsof paintedand printedpapers. In 1994,the publication of The PaperedWall a collec- Fromthe sheetof paperto the roll,England was the tive endeavorunder the directionof LesleyHoskins, then countrythat saw the fastestevolution that the fieldwould and now curatorat the Museumof DomesticDesign and experience,which is the subjectthat Anthony Wells-Cole Architecture,Middlesex University, U.K., filledthe need for addressesin chapter2. He clearlyanalyzes the appearance as a new,serious, and completework dealing with the overall well as the inventionat the veryend of the seventeenth historyof wallpaper. Bringing together international special- centuryof lengths made of sheets joined together. Moreover, ists,Hoskins's volume analyzed the technicalas well as the fromtechnical and commercialpoints of view he surveysthe stylisticevolution of the medium, from its origins to ourown historyof Britishwallpaper through the firstthird of the time.The closestcomparison then was the Germanbook nineteenthcentury, noting the growingimportance of Tapeten:Ihre Geschichte bis zurGegenwart by HeinrichOl- flockedpapers. He does not, however,forget the stylistic ligs,a vaststudy in threevolumes, published in 1970. Now questionsfollowing such fashions as the imitationof textiles Thames &l Hudson,noting renewed interest in wallpaper and the GothicRevival taste. and its supportamong certain designers, has issueda new The rapiddevelopment that the fieldenjoyed in Eu- editionof The PaperedWall, augmentedby a chapteron rope, however,does not cause Hoskins to overlookthe recenttrends as well as by an updatedreference section, simultaneousimportance of Chinese wallpaperimported which includeswallpaper collections open to the public, into the Westernworld via the variousEast India compa- suppliersof historicpatterns, and additionalsources of in- nies.In chapter3 Gill Saunders,the wallpaper curator at the formation.The volumeis otherwisecloser to a secondprint- Victoriaand AlbertMuseum in London,traces the produc- ing,however, but it offersa momentto revisitthe impor- tion and marketingof these Orientalproducts, the great tance of the original edition and to consider the majorityof whichwere hand-painted, through their differ- contributionsof the new chapter.It is regrettablethat this entdesigns, such as scenesof daily life, flora, and fauna,and new editionadds nothingabout research on wallpaperdur- theirWestern imitations. The authorconcentrates on Great ing the last ten years.Indeed, since 1994, this fieldhas Britain,but perhapsa moreinternational understanding of evolvedconsiderably. For instance, the contributions of two thequestion would have been preferablein a book intended Frenchdissertations, that of Christine Velut, which has just fora generalaudience. More attentioncould have been been publishedin a reworkedversion,1 and by Bernard paid,for example, to themost complete work on thesubject, Jacqué,2could have been takeninto consideration. Swedish byFriederike Wappenschmidt,4 which is citedsummarily in wallpaper,about which a sumptuousand voluminousbook a note here. has recentlybeen published,3could have been considered. The importanceof the developmentof wallpaperin In addition,several errors known to have slippedinto the Franceduring the late eighteenthcentury and nineteenth firstedition could have been corrected- butthey were not. centuriesis thentreated in no lessthan three chapters, 4-6. The questionof the originsof wallpaper remains com- Hoskins'sstrong point is again to have called on the best plex.In a clearand organizedmanner, Geert Wisse, a Dutch specialistsin the field.First of all, in chapter4, Bernard arthistorian specializing in wallpaper,treats this problem in Jacqué,curator of the Musée du PapierPeint in Rixheim thefirst chapter of the Hoskins book. He quotesa numberof (Alsace, France)since its openingmore than twentyyears rareaccounts, from the Germanicworld to Great Britain, ago, describeshow all of Franceenjoyed its goldenage in attestingto the use of papersto decorateceilings and walls wallpaperproduction. Manufacturers multiplied and pro- duringthe Renaissance,and thenemphasizes the consider- duced mostlyluxury wallpapers with innovative motifs for able lateseventeenth-century European production of sheets thehaute bourgeoisie, and theiroutput enjoyed international of paperprinted with motifsand hung one next to each supremacyand influence.Jacqué also emphasizesthe new otherto constitutea muraldecoration. These productions creativityof the motifsthat wereprinted then, and finds aregenerally called dominos, but the author judiciously notes theirrichness in threeareas: flowers, imitations of textiles, This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.52.64 on Wed, 21 Nov 2012 13:23:08 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions BookReviews 125 and ornamentalmotifs, such as architecturalelements, tro- does not escape the tendencyto see all thingsmodern as phies,or statues.Moreover, he does not forgetto consider derivingfrom England, even ifit is undeniablethat British the importantpilaster-and-panel sets of the 1840s and the productionhad a wideinfluence during this period. Research nonfiguralcompositions, always highly luxurious, produced remainsto be done on the real impactof aestheticreforms duringthe sameperiod. on theeffective distribution of Arts and Craftswallpapers in In chapter5 thesedecorative scenes are also mentioned interiorsof the era. The authornonetheless rightly states by Véroniquede Bruignac-laHougue, curator of the wall- thatthe ideas of Arts and Craftsartists could only fail in this paperdepartment at the Musée des ArtsDécoratifs in Paris. domain,because theirrevival of traditionalplate printing Thoughthe lack ofa transitionfrom the previous chapter is techniquescould not competewith the muchlower cost of noticeablehere, her contribution is valuablein considering articlesthat were mechanically mass-produced. thegreat variety of decorative ensembles produced between The threeauthors of chapter9 exploreprecisely this about1760 and about 1830. Her chapterconveys the entire questionof production means during the lastdecades of the fashionof an era, fromthe importantvogue for papers nineteenthcentury, when the supplyand demandfor wall- paintedwith arabesques - notably,the famouscreations of paper saw an importantexpansion. This proliferationis Jean-BaptisteRéveillon's manufacture (1725-1811) - to al- studiedfrom a numberof different points of view, including legoricalrepresentations, as well as productsdestined for the numerousand rapidtechnical innovations - forexam- ceilings.Finally, chapter 6, by Odile Nouvel of the Musée ple, the developmentof "sanitary"wallpaper in GreatBrit- des Arts Décoratifs,is dedicatedto scenic wallpapers.At ain- to the increasinglyfierce competitive market. ("Sani- thatmuseum she supervisedthe catalogueof a vast exhibi- tary"wallpapers were washable and were printedwith tion on the topic in 1990,5and here she appraisesthese engravedcopper rollers, making it possibleto producelarge decorativeensembles, exclusively produced in Franceduring quantitiesat a low cost.) This analysisfocuses on the pro- the nineteenthcentury, and conscientiouslysummarizes ductionof threecountries that still have an activeindustry whatwas at stakein theirdevelopment, including the desire today:England, covered by ChristineWoods, curatorof to make a majorgenre of wallpaper,as well as technical, wallpaperat theWhitworth Art Gallery of Manchester; the iconographie,and stylisticmatters. UnitedStates, examined by Joanne Kosuda Warner, former Carefulto approachthe historyof wallpaperinterna- wallpapercurator at the Cooper-HewittMuseum, New tionally,The Papered Wall next explores the use ofthese wall York;and France,explored by BernardJacqué. If the book coveringsin theUnited States. This is documentedfrom the here is not exhaustivefrom a geographicpoint