Revivalism: Gothic Revivalist Style
Revivalism affected a lot of art forms, but it influenced architecture the most. It started in the 19th century as a reaction to the environment of the industrial revolution.
Because of the rapid urbanization (manufacturing and mechanization), many immigrants coming in, and the Civil War, wealthy Americans embraced Romanticism. It was an urge to reexamine the "simple" ways of the past to find happiness in their complicated present. Like the Renaissance and Neo-Classical, it was going back to the classics. Still, instead of just the classics, other periods of styles were included in Revivalism. Greek Revival, Roman Revival, Rococo Revival, Gothic Revival, and so much more. In short, Revivalism in architecture was the use of visual styles that imitated the techniques of the previous architectural era.
What about the furniture and interiors during this period? A lot of them were inspired by the Rococo, Renaissance, and Gothic periods. The Rococo Revival style was thought to be elegantly French and popular for the design of drawing rooms and parlors. The Rococo revivalist furniture usually consists of two sofas, two armchairs, four side chairs, and a center table. Renaissance Revival furniture, they were primarily used in bedrooms and reception rooms.
In Gothic Revival furniture, regardless of the home's exterior, is usually used in dining rooms. A lot of the furniture designs showed straight legs, tracery, and chair splats that form pointed arches. Most pieces were made from walnut wood. Although the style wasn't as popular as the others in America, architects and cabinetmakers used this for the most part.
Furniture created in the United States between 1840 and 1860 was made to fit into Gothic Revival homes of the time. It was ornamented with tracery and other Gothic carvings such as quatrefoils and trefoils. The rose window and pointed arch, for instance, became the inspiration for several chair back designs. And that is what I used for reference in this plate.
For this plate, I chose to do an armchair made back in 1855. The chair is from Belvior, a large Gothic villa in the 1850s, New York, for a tobacco merchant named Christian H. Lilienthal. Existing photographs of the Gothic Revival library show that the chairs and bookcases are related to the works by Gustave Herter, a cabinetmaker. And like with much of the Gothic Revival furniture, it owes more to the architecture vocabulary than traditional furniture making. The furniture is made with walnut wood and has dimensions of 163.8 cm x 64.5 cm x 56.5 cm.
I chose this piece because it's one of the styles I've enjoyed learning throughout this course. Not only that but seeing elements/motifs of architecture can be implemented into furniture and interiors. What can be seen from the exterior can also be applied in the interiors. I think what I chose is an excellent example of what Revivalist furniture is, combining the concepts and ideas of architecture into interior spaces.
As aspiring interior designers, choosing and implementing furniture in an interior is essential, especially when designing for ourselves or a client. Knowing the types and kinds of furniture that can strike up conversations and discourse. What I liked doing throughout this course was learning about the interiors of the history of how people live and interact with each other—knowing what worked for them or how they made sense with the spaces they had—seeing the factors that affect man, his environments, and their relationship to one another. And maybe, like Revivalism, we can implement previous periods of styles to today's design.








