700 Victorian Ornamental Designs

Description

The extraordinary creations of expert engraver F. Knight defined the lavish style of ornamentation associated with Victorian design. With clean lines and artful shading, Knight captured the spirit of the age in fanciful illustrations that combined the sentimental, the intricate, and the fantastic. This extravagant collection of Knight's work, reproduced directly from a rare original 19th-century edition, contains a fabulous assortment of images: elaborate wall murals with trompe-l'oeil effects of chandeliers and fountains; scenes of hunters, flanked by mythological figures; idealized damsels in rustic settings, framed by majestic swirls and garlands of flowers and ivy; and numerous other florid designs. Teeming with motifs in a variety of sizes and styles, this volume boasts a luxuriant supply of designs both floral (leaves, running vines, and blossoms) and animal (realistic and grotesque). A nearly inexhaustible source of versatile, copyright-free designs for artists, illustrators, and craftspeople, this volume will also fascinate all lovers of Victoriana.