Short Research Paper on Craft Visual & Performing Arts Essay

Louis Comfort Tiffany, Waterlily Lamp, 1904-15
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Louis Comfort Tiffany, Waterlily Lamp, 1904-15
Introduction
The late 19th century marks a period of a great revolution in the American history of arts and craftsmanship leading to the modernization of interior designs and other works of architecture. Modern interior designs of the time were characteristic of handcrafted decorative works of art with a wide range of glassware being the most widely used material. At the forefront in the use of glass in the craftsmanship of various household furniture and ornaments was one of America’s most revered artist, Louis Comfort Tiffany and his Tiffany Studios. Louis Comfort Tiffany’s love for the use of glass in creating or rather crafting decorative works of art such as lamps, enamels, and windows made of leaded glass accounts for the artist’s recognition in the United States and around the world. The Louis Comfort Tiffany’s Waterlily Lamp created in the period between 1904 to 1915 ranks as one of his best designs from the Tiffany Studios and a masterpiece in glasswork. The exquisite lamp provides an excellent basis for understanding the historical context of the design as well as analysing the key features accounting for its widespread recognition.
The Louis Comfort Tiffany, Waterlily Lamp, 1904-15
The Waterlily Lamp is one of Louis Comfort Tiffany’s decorative designs accounting for his success and recognition in the use of leaded-glass in craftsmanship or the world of art as a whole CITATION Fre13 \l 1033 (Frelinghuysen, Louis Comfort Tiffany at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2013). As the name suggests, the lamp takes after a naturally existing bunch of waterlilies but that which is embroidered in leaded-glass over a wooden body. The key features of the Waterlily table lamp include a broad base made of bronze with leaded-glass decorations. The bronze base of the table lamp reflects a cluster of waterlilies with its stems rising up towards the shade of the lamp CITATION Met18 \l 1033 (Art, 2018). The shade of the lamp is characteristic of unique blossoms with irregular cascading border CITATION Met18 \l 1033 (Art, 2018). The leaded glass decorations of the shade are made of distinct coloured varieties of glass reflecting the naturally occurring water lilies CITATION Met18 \l 1033 (Art, 2018). The Waterlily table lamb served to provide indirect illumination from the existing light bulbs in households which enhanced the interior design of homes, houses, and offices. It was a form of a luxurious ornament for households and thus serving as a revolutionary object in the modernization of interior designs and decorations.
Louis Comfort Tiffany, the designer of the Waterlily table lamp, was born into an artistic family and was initially a gifted painter. However, in the late 19th century the artist picked up an interest in interior design with a special interest in the use of leaded glass in most of his works. He spearheaded the use of leaded glass in interior decorations for homes and churches through which propelled him to the heights of recognition in the world of art he enjoys even after his demise CITATION Koc64 \l 1033 (Koch, 1964). Louis Comfort Tiffany’s experimentation with stained glass windows while decorating churches created and developed manipulation of light with leaded glass in crafting home ornaments and objects such as lampshades CITATION Eid07 \l 1033 (Eidelberg, 2007). The widespread use of electric bulbs for lighting purposes further led him to incorporate his mastery of glasswork in making table lamps and shades. In essence, it is Louis Comfort Tiffany’s works in interior decoration with stained glass windows that led to his infatuation with the leaded glass designs for c...