The Art & Antiques Show Reimagined: Versatile Wallcoverings Reimagined:
By Janet Reagor
Wallpaper is more than beautiful patterns and designs. This versatile wallcovering can add texture and color to a room, making it feel elegant and unique. Like many art forms, its evolution tells the history of changes in taste and style that reflect current events and production innovations. It is a practical décor element that encourages and celebrates artistic expression.
As early as the Qin Dynasty (221- 207 B.C.) the Chinese hung decorated rice paper on walls and so are credited with inventing wallpaper. Later, linen fibers were used to make wallpaper that was easier to paint and print designs onto. These first wallpapers depicted themes of genealogy, the gods, and nature. Around the 12th century, wallpaper spread to the west via the storied Silk Road and by the 1600s it was common in Western Europe. Prior to wallpaper, Europeans used woven tapestries and leather to decorate and insulate their walls. Both were expensive and time-consuming to produce, which meant only the wealthiest could afford them.
During the Renaissance, wallpaper became an affordable alternative thanks to block-printing technology. Artists engraved wooden blocks with designs mimicking luxurious tapestries and fabrics and used ink to transfer the pattern onto paper. This simple but effective technology is still used today. In the early 17th century, brightly colored rice paper panels with ornate flower and bird designs were created by the Chinese. Known as chinoiserie, these fresh designs dominated the wallpaper market for the next century and remain popular today.
