Gertrude Jekyll and Garden Design | The Britain that Women Made | BBC Teach

Until the 1870s, the only way women could become artists was by training as men had done. In the 1870s a style of art known as Impressionism made it easier for people without formal training to paint. Historian Amanda Vickery explains how Gertrude Jekyll (1843-1932) used an impressionistic style to design gardens and achieved success and fame for it. Jekyll started as a painter, but suffered from short-sightedness so had to find another form of art. The Arts and Crafts movement was popular at the time of the Industrial Revolution and a reaction to the increase in factory-made goods: people wanted attractive, hand-made and original objects. Jekyll became a garden designer at a time when people wanted to see more craft and art in every day settings. Jekyll designed gardens in a non-traditional way: she made them to look like paintings instead of the highly formal style of the time. Jekyll's work encouraged home-owners to experiment with different colours in their own gardens. Thanks to her influence, gardens began to be seen as works of art in themselves: alive and three-dimensional, and yet just as valid as those hanging on gallery walls. This clip is from the series The Britain That Women Made. Suitable for teaching Art and Design and History at Key Stage 3 and Third Level. For BBC Teach website: https://www.bbc.com/teach For free in depth teachers notes, follow the links via the cards. For more teaching resources, subscribe here: https://www.youtube.com/bbcteach?sub_... Get in touch on: TWITTER: https://twitter.com/bbc_teach FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/BBCTeach/ ===================== Teaching Art & Design at KS3/3rd Level? Follow this link for Teacher Notes: https://www.bbc.com/teach/class-clips-video/art-and-design-ks3-gertrude-jekyll-garden-design/znsxpg8 ===================== More resources from BBC Bitesize: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize #internationalwomensday