Dictionary
Victorian Style

The reign of Queen Victoria of England from 1837 to 1901 is regarded as the temporal frame for the Victorian style, which is separated into three periods, whereas it is rather difficult to carry out a clear classification: The Early Victorian period spans the time from 1830 to 1850, the second heyday takes place with the High Victorian style between 1850 and 1875, before it ended with the Late Victorian period with its variations Vernacular Revival, Old English Style and Queen Anne Revival around the turn of the century. Victorian style can be found in different occurrences in all genres. One feature shared by all periods is the basic rejection of strictly classicist forms, the approach to art turning towards a stronger decorative effect. In the course of Neo-Gothic development, gothic vocabulary was often used in order to make the phenomenon "Gothic Revival" comprehensible, a trend that took place in England at the same time. Different styles were often eclectically combined.
In terms of cultural history, the upcoming industrialization and accordingly the implementation of capitalism, reflected in the production of goods, play an important role. Mass manufacturing, growth of technology, machine labor and new materials gain in importance, a development that was also the topic of the world exhibition in London in 1851. The Victoria & Albert Museum, one of the first museums of arts and crafts, was opened in London in the context of this development.