Owen Jones: Travel and Vision of the Orient (Essay‪)‬

The British architect Owen Jones (1809-1874) was a major influence on British design and decoration in the mid-nineteenth century. Many of his ideas, particularly concerning color and pattern, were derived from a visit he paid to Egypt in 1832-1833, taking him up the Nile as far as the second cataract, and to southern Spain in 1833-1834 and 1837 where he was profoundly affected by the Alhambra. Jones was working in a period of great interest in the science as in the aesthetics of color. However, there were often loud protests at the strong colors he insisted on using and it is interesting to compare them with similar protests today when 'Victorian' color schemes (often Jones-inspired) are restored. **********