Owen Jones

Owen Jones: His Life, Passion, and Struggle (1809–1874)

Owen Jones was not merely a "decorator"; he was one of the most stubborn, visionary, and controversial architects of the 19th century. His story is the journey of a son of a Welsh family who traveled from London to Cairo, Constantinople (Istanbul), and Granada, ultimately changing the design perception of the entire world.

1. Roots and Early Youth

Owen Jones was born on February 15, 1809, in London. However, strong Welsh blood ran through his veins. His father (also named Owen Jones) was a successful furrier but was even more renowned as a respected antiquarian under the pseudonym "Owain Myfyr." His father dedicated his life to preserving Welsh history, literature, and language.

This detail is crucial because the younger Owen Jones inherited a "reverence for the past" and a "meticulous attention to detail" from his father. Although his father died while he was young, the legacy left behind ensured Jones received an excellent education.

Young Owen first attended Charterhouse School, then spent six years as an apprentice to the famous architect of the era, Lewis Vulliamy. Simultaneously, he studied at the Royal Academy Schools. However, Jones did not want to be an architect who simply drew at a desk; he wanted to see the world.

2. The "Grand Tour" and the Journey to the East (1832-1834)

Like every ambitious young architect of the time, Jones embarked on a "Grand Tour." However, while most of his colleagues merely visited Rome and Paris to study Ancient Greek columns, Jones turned his route toward the East.

On this journey starting in 1832, he traveled from Italy to Greece. From there, he went to Egypt, visiting Alexandria and Cairo, and subsequently stopped in Constantinople (Istanbul). During this trip, he met the French architect and artist Jules Goury. The two were like soulmates; both were mesmerized by the geometry and colors of Islamic architecture.

After studying the mosques, bazaars, and palaces in Istanbul and Cairo, they traveled to Spain in 1834 to see the jewel of the Andalusian Umayyads: Granada.

3. A Tragedy and a Vow at the Alhambra

The Alhambra Palace in Spain became a turning point for Jones and Goury. The infinite geometric loops and colors on the palace walls enchanted them. The pair settled in the palace and began to draw every tile and every muqarnas detail, millimeter by millimeter, for months.

However, in the midst of their work in 1834, Jules Goury contracted cholera and tragically lost his life there.

Jones was devastated by the death of his closest friend but did not give up. He made it a point of honor to complete Goury’s unfinished work. He buried his friend near the Alhambra, finished the studies alone, and returned to London. This tragedy further fueled Jones's ambition to introduce Islamic art to the West.

4. The Printing Revolution: Printing Colors

Upon returning to London, Jones had hundreds of drawings but faced a major problem: The printing technology of that era was insufficient to print the complex colors and gold leaf of the Alhambra.

With his stubborn personality, Jones established his own printing press to solve this. He developed the then-nascent technique of Chromolithography (stone printing). He took significant financial risks, even selling some property. Ultimately, between 1842 and 1845, he published the massive work "Plans, Elevations, Sections and Details of the Alhambra." This book was one of the world's first luxury color-printed books and instantly made Jones famous in art circles.

5. The Great Controversy: The Crystal Palace (1851)

The most tumultuous period of Owen Jones's career was 1851. When the massive glass building, The Crystal Palace, was built for the Great Exhibition under the patronage of Prince Albert, the responsibility for the interior decoration was given to Jones.

When Jones announced he would paint the building's iron girders in very bright primary colors—Red, Yellow, and Blue—the British press and public were outraged. Headlines screamed, "This is barbarism!" and "It will blind us!" At that time, "good taste" meant pale beiges and grey stone colors.

Jones did not step back. He knew that Egyptian and Greek temples were originally colored. He proved to critics that the colors would optically blend from a distance to create a pleasing "neutral" effect (long before the Impressionist painters). When the exhibition opened, everyone, including Queen Victoria, was mesmerized by the magical, airy, and colorful atmosphere inside. Jones had been proven right.

6. The Headmaster of Design and "The Grammar of Ornament"

By the mid-1850s, Jones was a mature theorist. He played a key role in the establishment of the South Kensington Museum (today's Victoria & Albert Museum). His goal was to improve the aesthetic quality of British industry.

In 1856, he published his life's masterpiece, "The Grammar of Ornament." In this book, he analyzed patterns from Savage tribes to China, from the Renaissance to Islamic art. However, he didn't just say "look how beautiful this is"; he explained "why it is beautiful."

Jones strongly opposed copying nature exactly (for example, printing realistic roses on a carpet). According to him, "Flowers do not grow on wallpaper." Natural forms had to be stylized, flattened, and geometricized. These ideas inspired William Morris and the Arts & Crafts movement that followed him.

7. Visit to Istanbul and Views on Ottoman Art

Owen Jones arrived in Constantinople (Istanbul) in 1833. This visit was critical in shaping his comparative understanding of Islamic art. However, his views on Ottoman art were complex and somewhat critical compared to his love for the Alhambra.

The "Mixed" Style Criticism: In The Grammar of Ornament, Jones dedicates a specific chapter to "Turkish Ornament." While he was impressed by the grandeur of Istanbul's architecture (especially the skyline and the scale of the mosques), he argued that Ottoman ornamentation was not as "pure" as the Arab or Moorish (Andalusian) styles.

The Byzantine Influence: Jones observed that the Turks adapted the architecture they found in the conquered lands. He believed that Ottoman art was a modification of Arabian art, heavily influenced by Byzantine (Roman) elements. To Jones, who sought mathematical purity, this mixture resulted in a loss of the "refinement" found in Cairo or Granada.

Energetic but Less Geometric: He noted that while the Arabs worked with strict geometry, Turkish artisans were more free-flowing and energetic with their floral patterns. He pointed out that in Turkish ornaments, the "constructive sense" was sometimes lost; lines flowed more loosely rather than adhering to a rigid structural logic.

The "Bedestan" Sketches: During his time in Istanbul, he sketched details from the Grand Bazaar (Bedestan) and various fountains. Even though he criticized the "purity" of the style, he included beautiful chromolithograph plates of Turkish patterns in his book, acknowledging their vibrancy and the skillful use of specific colors like a distinct green and red combination unique to the Ottomans.

8. Death and Legacy

Owen Jones passed away on April 19, 1874, at the age of 65 in his London home. He was buried in Kensal Green Cemetery with a simple ceremony.

When he died, he left behind an architectural philosophy that used color fearlessly and rules that every design student (whether they realize it or not) follows today. He was the man who taught the West that the East was not just "exotic," but possessed a superior mathematical and aesthetic intelligence.