Design for a Floral Pattern
ca. 1883
Christopher Dresser was actually a botanist before he became a designer, and you can see that scientific eye at work in these structural, almost architectural flowers! The faint pencil sketches ghosting in the background reveal his meticulous planning process for what looks like a textile pattern. He famously traveled to Japan in the 1870s, and that influence is clear in the flat, bold colors and swirling, asymmetrical vines. Created around 1883, this piece captures the exact moment where Victorian naturalism started morphing into the stylized curves of Art Nouveau.
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