19th C Technology and Architecture

 

During the mid-1800s, a lot of new technology and industrial changes were happening and the technology influenced art and architecture. One example is the invention of oil paint tubes. Before this, artists had to mix paint themselves, but now they could buy pre-mixed oil paints in metal tubes, which made painting easier and more portable. These tubes were originally designed by a toothpaste manufacturer in the U.S.  This advancement reduced the cost of paint but also allowed painters more freedom to paint plein air, out of doors without having the inconvenince of putting the oil paint in animal bladders (a technique used by Monet) or having to grind and mix paint on location.  Innovations in manufacturing sped things up, including te creation of buildings.

The Crystal Palace, designed by Sir Joseph Paxton, was built in 1851 to host the Great Exhibition, also known as the first World's Fair. The structure looked a lot like a giant greenhouse. It was about 450 feet long and was made using cast iron and glass. Most of the parts were prefabricated, which means they were made in a factory and then brought to the site to be assembled. The glass used in the building had become more affordable at the time, which made this kind of construction possible. The way the building was put together was similar to how trailers or cars are built today—parts made in one place and snapped together somewhere else.

This idea of interchangeable parts came from earlier innovations like Eli Whitney's cotton gin and his work on making standard-sized machine parts. That kind of thinking influenced how people started designing buildings too.

The Crystal Palace had some design features that were inspired by older styles. It had arches like Roman triumphal arches and included some elements that looked a bit Gothic. Even though the building was made using new technology, it still held onto older architectural ideas. At the time, people didn’t really think of it as “architecture.” Instead, they thought of it as more of a technical or engineering structure.

Inside, it was filled with exhibits—industrial machines, new inventions, and even items from around the world. It was kind of like a temporary museum focused on industry, science, and culture. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert organized the event to encourage people to learn about new technology and to develop what they called “good taste.” At the time, industrialization had made a lot of things widely available, including household decorations and fabrics. Some people started mixing lots of patterns and designs in their homes. The fair aimed to guide people to use design in a more restrained and organized way, according to Victorian values.

The Crystal Palace also included displays from different parts of the British Empire and beyond. They brought back items from places like New Zealand, New Guinea, and Africa and exhibited them as examples of global cultures. In the 19th century, it was common for people to collect unusual objects—like fossils, old coins, or artifacts from far-off places—and keep them in curio cabinets. These were often filled with objects seen as rare or exotic, like a mummy’s finger or ancient pottery. That interest in distant cultures tied into a trend called Orientalism, which involved a lot of curiosity about the people, products, and environments of places outside Europe.

The Crystal Palace showed how industrial design, global trade, and cultural displays came together in one place during the 1800s.

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