Fake Plastic Trees

Folio from a Mu'nis al-ahrar fi daqa'iq al-ash'ar (Free Man's Guide to the Subtleties of Poetry) by Badr al-Din Jajarmi (d. 1287); The Zodiac constellation of Pisces, the moon, and two registers of birds. Iran, Ilkhanid period, 1341.

and EVEN WHEN things were more muted/neutral, the neutrality was OFFSET by ACCENT COLORS and HIGH CONTRAST between the wood tones and everything ELSE

ALSO AMERICAN COLONIAL INTERIORS POPPED OFF, Y'ALL (IN TERMS OF COLOR/COZINESS)

PEOPLE USED WHITEWASH AND COLORFUL TRIM OR EVEN JUST COLORFUL FURNITURE IF THEY COULD AFFORD TO DO SO

AND DON'T GET ME STARTED ON FRENCH AND BRITISH AND AMERICAN WALLPAPERS

"ELIZABETH" YOU CRY, "WHY ARE YOU BEING SO EXTRA THIS MORNING?! IT'S MONDAY"

Because, my friend, my war on GREIGE will NEVER end.

Historic interiors were filled with LIFE and LIGHT and COLOR. ALWAYS HAVE BEEN.

Part of the reason we don't see a lot of textile art is because, frankly, textiles tend to degrade over time - especially ones that had utility! And yes, pigments and weaving and dying all boosted the expense of things, when we were finally reliably block-printing fabrics and broad reams of paper, it was no longer just the wealthy who could afford pretty patterns!

In the Americas, a far wider variety of pigments also became available because of the abundance of... well, a shitton of flora and minerals, some of which weren't as common in Europe.

WHY THE HIGHLIGHTER COLORS? you ask.

CANDLES.

Those colors reflect candlelight and natural sunlight REALLY WELL.

Humans LOVE bright colors, it's NOT just a thing for kids. We live in a brilliant, vibrant, multifaceted world. We ALWAYS have.

(If ever you have the opportunity to visit the Stencil House at the Shelburne Museum in Vermont (pictured above at 3, 4, and 5), I highly recommend.)

And that's before you get into American painted murals:

Frances, Countess of Somerset

Artist: Studio of William Larkin (English, c. 1580-1619)

Date: ca. 1615

Medium: Oil on panel

Collection: © National Portrait Gallery, London, United Kingdom

Frances Carr, Countess of Somerset

Joan of Arc in Paintings

Armour from Augsburg, Germany dated between 1525 - 1530 on display at the Wallace Collection in London, England

This armour set was made by Kolman Helmschmid, considered to have been one of the greatest renaissance armourer as well as court armourer to the Emperor Charles V. The etched decorations around the borders of the armour were done by Daniel Hopfer another famous name in the Holy Roman Empire for printmaking. He is often credited with inventing the process of printing with acid-etched steel plates.

The original owner of the armour is unknown and is thought to have been a gift from the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V to one of his immediate circle of supporters. One candiate was CHarles's brother Ferdinand, who became King of Bohemia, Hungary and Croatia in 1527.

Portrait of Ursula Rudolph

Artist: Barthel Beham (German, 1502-1540)

Date: 1528

Medium: Oil on panel