Aesthetics Exploration – Victorian Aesthectic/Era

A highly influential era was the Victorian Era (1837 – 1901) developed a popular aesthetic that is almost interchangeable with the era. It was sometimes referred to as the aesthetic movement. This era saw the British Empire become the first global industrial power allowing for major improvements in the sense of arts and sciences. The main focus of the Victorian Aesthetic was to move the appearance of life from the dull, practical and “ugly” looks of the Industrial Revolution, to a more elegant world with art having deeper meanings. This had the documentation and way of life transition from materialistic in the way or basic needs to appreciating art our surroundings with a deeper meaning. There was an increase in wealth allowing for the middle class to spend more on luxury such as art, clothing, etc. 

Characteristics

Ornate Decoration – a lot of detail, complicated designs and patterns

Dante Gabriel Rossetti‘s drawing room at No. 16 Cheyne Walk [4]

The Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s drawing room at No. 16 Cheyne Walk by Henry Treffry Dunn was painted in 1882. It can be seeing the details all around his room. It can especially be seen in the furniture, mantel, chandelier, etc. The amount of detail is crazy to the extent that we can see the detail on the paintings within this current one. 

  

Flashy – More colors and higher quality materials for clothes such as dresses. More and more expensive jewelry. 

Portrait of Elizabeth of Bavaria, Empress of Austria [6] 

This portrait was completed in 1865 in the Victorian Era by Franz Xaver Winterhalter, a German artist. A lot of his focuses of his painting were of royalty and imperial aristocracy. You can see the detail within this dress, and all deduce the quality of materials of the Portrait of Elizabeth was wearing with her dress. 

  

Materialistic – Having more luxury items such as paintings 

A Private View at the Royal Academy [5]

This painting by William Powell Frith was completed in 1883. You can see all the paintings in this household and how fancy the suits and dresses were at that time period. It emphasizes the importance of image in the Victorian Era. 

  

This aesthetic holds a huge umbrella that several styles and aesthetics have been created based on it both fictional and non-fictional such as: 

• Steampunk

This has the detail and complexity of the Victorian era but added to the tech idea of the Industrial Revolution. [8] 

• Cyperpunk 

This is closer to a subcategory of Steampunk. It takes the industrial revolution’s side and makes it more modern with technology such as RGB lights. 

• Neoclassicism

Takes the hyper realistic style of the Victorian Era and the heavy focus on detail, especially in architecture. These both can be seen in The Emperor Napoleon in His Study at the Tuileries (1812) by Jacques Louis David. [9] 

• Victorian Gothic 

• Etc. 

The overall aesthetic marked the transition from a more brute, poor, and only having basic needs views of the Industrial Revolution to a way of live that flourished with more access to money, luxury items and the middle class closing the gap to the upper class. 

 

Sources – Information

[1] Massey, B. (2024, September 20). Victorian aesthetic. AC Silver. https://blog.acsilver.co.uk/2023/03/22/victorian-aesthetic/

[3] Wiki, C. to A. (n.d.). Victorian. Aesthetics Wiki. https://aesthetics.fandom.com/wiki/Victorian#:~:text=When%20it%20comes%20to%20architecture,proportions%20from%20multiple%20aesthetics%20together).

 

Sources – Images

[4] Dunn, H. T. (n.d.). Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s drawing room at No. 16 Cheyne Walk. Retrieved 2025, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victorian_decorative_arts#/media/File:Henry_Treffry_Dunn_Rossetti_and_Dunton_at_16_Cheyne_Walk.jpg.

[5] Frith, W. P. (n.d.). A Private View at the Royal Academy. Retrieved 2025, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Frith_A_Private_View.jpg.

[6] Winterhalter, F. X. (n.d.). Portrait of Elizabeth of Bavaria, Empress of Austria. Retrieved 2025, from https://fiveminutehistory.com/victorian-dresses-worth-a-fortune/.

[7] The Victorian Era. Author VL McBeath. (2023, October 10). https://www.valmcbeath.com/victorian-era-england-1837-1901/

[8] Carter, E. (2024, November 28). 15 steampunk house design ideas for a unique look. Lord Decor. https://www.lorddecor.com/blog/steampunk-house

[9] David, J. L. (n.d.). The Emperor Napoleon in His Study at the Tuileries. Retrieved 2025, from https://www.mastersgaze.com/products/the-emperor-napoleon-in-his-study-at-the-tuileries-1812-by-jacques-louis-david.