Owen Jones (1809-1874) was a London-born architect and designer of Welsh descent, and one of the most influential design theorists of his time, the nineteenth century. He helped pioneer modern color theory, and his theories on flat patterning and ornament still resonate with contemporary designers today, two hundred years after his birth.
He rose to prominence with his studies of Islamic decoration at the Alhambra, and the associated publication of his drawings, which pioneered new standards in chromolithography. He looked towards the Islamic world for much of this inspiration, using his carefully observed studies of Islamic decoration at the Alhambra to develop bold new theories on flat patterning, geometry and abstraction in ornament. These design propositions also formed the basis for his seminal publication 'The Grammar of Ornament' (1856) the global and historical design sourcebook for which Jones is perhaps best known today, that is still in print more than 150 years later.
Jones embarked on a Grand Tour to the continent in 1832, having completed studies at the Royal Academy Schools and an apprenticeship with the architect Lewis Vuillamy (1791-1871). He travelled first to Italy and then to Greece where he met the young French architect Jules Goury (1803-1834), who was assisting Gottfried Semper (1803-1879) with his radical studies of the polychromy of Ancient Greek buildings. Jones and Goury travelled together to Egypt to study the Islamic architecture of Cairo and the ancient sites, and continued on to Constantinople before finally arriving at Granada in southern Spain where they embarked on their studies of the Islamic decoration at the Alhambra.
Jones’s studies in Granada were pivotal in the development of his theories on flat pattern, geometry and polychromy. His travelling companion, Jules Goury, died during their six-month stay at the Alhambra, at the age of 31, and Jones returned to London determined to publish the results of their studies. The standard of colour printing at that time was not sophisticated enough to do justice to the intricate decoration of the Alhambra, therefore Jones undertook the printing work himself. Collaborating with chemists and printers, Jones took it upon himself to research the new process of chromolithography. He issued this labour of love 'Plans, Elevations, Sections and Details of the Alhambra' in twelve parts over a period of almost ten years, from 1836 to 1845. It was the world’s first ever published work of any significance to employ chromolithography, and was to be a key milestone in the development of Owen Jones’s reputation as a design theorist.
Jones was able to disseminate his theories on pattern and ornament through his work for several of the key manufacturers of the period, thus facilitating public consumption of his decorative visions in a number of diverse contexts. During the 1840s, having been inspired by the tilework at the Alhambra, Jones became known for his designs for mosaics and tessellated pavements, working for firms such as Maw & Co., Blashfield and Minton. He designed wallpapers for several firms from the 1840s until the 1870s including Townsend and Parker, Trumble & Sons and Jeffrey & Co. Jones was also prolific in the field of textiles - designing silks for Warner, Sillett & Ramm and carpets for Brinton and James Templeton & Co.
Definitely Jones’s studies of the Alhambra were highly significant in the development of both his interest in ornament and his theories of flat pattern, geometry and polychromy. Jones and Goury observed that the harmony of Islamic decoration was achieved through the use of primary colours, with secondary and tertiary colours used in the background. Jones was appointed as one of the Superintendents of Works for the Great Exhibition of 1851, a showcase of manufactures and industry from around the world, which would provide inspiration to designers and craftsmen in the new industrial culture of Victorian Britain. Jones was responsible for the interior decoration of Joseph Paxton’s Crystal Palace, and also the arrangement of the exhibits inside. This work enabled Jones to put his colour theories into practical use, and also brought Jones to the attention of the wider public. He developed a controversial colour scheme for the interior based on the primary colours of red, yellow and blue for the interior ironwork, based on his studies of primary colour polychromy in the architecture of Ancient Greece, Ancient Egypt and the Alhambra.
Plate from 'The Grammar of Ornament' book showing tile patterns from the walls of the Alhambra.
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