COLOUR REVOLUTION: VICTORIAN ART, FASHION & DESIGN EXHIBITION

PAST EXHIBITION

This exhibition has now closed

★ ★ ★ ★

"Enthralling"

The Observer

"Brilliant and fascinating"

The Guardian

A major exhibition
21 Sep 2023 – 18 Feb 2024

Step into a revolution of colour and dispel our monochrome idea of Victorian Britain

Rediscover Victorian society as a vibrant colour-filled era – from dazzling dyes used in chic corsets, bold experiments by avant-garde painters, and the flamboyant use of nature's beauty in jewellery.

As Britain’s industrial revolution gained pace, new scientific breakthroughs allowed the Victorians to become increasingly revolutionary in their use of colour, with new hues greeted with both excitement and suspicion. This explosion of colour was embraced by artists, designers and many others in all walks of 19th-century life.
 
The exhibition includes fashion pieces – from Queen Victoria’s monotone mourning dress to the most daringly vivid clothing and accessories – and works by artists including Millais, Ruskin, Rossetti, Turner and Whistler, as well as objects from around the world and some of the earliest colour 'photograms'. It reveals the vital role that colour has played in shaping our art and culture and offers a rare opportunity to see some of these objects on public display.
 
Please note, the second room of the exhibition includes one object which discusses transatlantic slavery, which some visitors may find upsetting.

WATCH THE TRAILER

Peek inside the exhibition

https://www.youtube.com/embed/aNdHVs1yO8Y

WHAT VISITORS SAID

'Hugely engaging... alive with objects that surprise, delight and disturb'
Apollo

'Amazing exhibition! Strongly recommend'
Anna on Facebook

'Beautiful and informative in equal measure'
Nigel on Facebook

SELECTED ARTWORKS IN THE EXHIBITION

Queen Victoria's black mourning dress, c. 1898
Jove Decadent, Despres del ball by Ramon Casas, 1899, a beautiful oil painting showing a young woman reclining on a green chaise long, wearing a black dress and holding a yellow book
Venice, from the Porch of Madonna della Salute, J M W Turner, c 1835
John Ruskin, Study of a Kingfisher with Dominant Reference to Colour
Mariana by John Everett Millais - she stands above a red velvet stool and in front of stained glass and wearing a rich blue dress c Tate Britain
Study at Dawn watercolour by John Ruskin showing purple clouds and orange and white streaks - 1868
Vivien by Frederick Sandys, 1863, Manchester Art Gallery. A vivid colourful portrait with peacock feather background.
A set of used paint tubes belonging to Whistler
Humming bird necklace and case by Harry Emanuel, 1856
Stunning vivid Lady’s day dress, England, in aniline-purple silk, about 1865–70
Folders of Dyed Samples by the Berlin Aniline Co, 1965
Women's boots in bold blue satin over linen, 1870s
The Tinted Venus marble statue by John Gibson, c 1851-6
Duchess Louise’s Queen Zenobia fancy dress, worn at the Diamond Jubilee Devonshire House Ball

NOT A MEMBER YET?

Members enjoy priority booking, unlimited exhibition entry, and exclusive Members-only preview days, PLUS Members-only events, our Members' Magazine posted to you twice a year, and exclusive shop, café and restaurant discounts.

JOIN TODAY

Part of our World In Colour Season

 

PRESS

To contact the Press Office please click here

 

EXHIBITION SUPPORTERS

Lead Support generously provided by
Mr Barrie and Mrs Deedee Wigmore

With additional support from:
The Huo Family Foundation 
Kathryn Uhde 
The Patrons of the Ashmolean Museum 
Albert Dawson Educational Trust
The Henry Moore Foundation 
Dr Lee MacCormick Edwards Charitable Foundation 
The Anson Charitable Trust

This exhibition has been made possible as a result of the British Government Indemnity Scheme. The Ashmolean Museum would like to thank HM Government for providing indemnity and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and Arts Council England for arranging the indemnity.

Thank you to:
The Sumitomo Foundation for the support of conservation of the fabric pattern book.
To all our lenders, who are supporting our exhibition with objects.

The research presented in this exhibition was undertaken for the Chromotope project (Sorbonne Université) in partnership with the University of Oxford and the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers in Paris.  The project received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.

More about the Chromotope research project

Chromotope Logo