Table

Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin (1812-1852)
Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin, an English designer, architect, and writer, is in many ways the father of the modern movement, even though he worked in the Gothic Revival style. In his influential writings, he implied that good design is morally correct and spiritually uplifting and he advocated many tenets that became central to modernism. For example, inspired by the structuralism inherent in Gothic architecture, he encouraged furniture makers to explore the merits of revealed, or rational, construction, in which the design of the piece can be readily understood. He recommended that designers use oak unadorned by fancy veneers and only employ decorative carving appropriate to the form and based on a flattened, schematic interpretation of nature. The nearby table in the style of Pugin is remarkable in its abbreviated form and absence of any traditional decoration.