Victorian Age

The Victorian era of the United Kingdom was the period of Queen Victoria's rule from June 1837 to January 1901 [1]. This was a long period of prosperity for the British people, as profits gained from the overseas British Empire, as well as from industrial improvements at home, allowed a large, educated middle class to develop. Some scholars would extend the beginning of the period—as defined by a variety of sensibilities and political concerns that have come to be associated with the Victorians—back five years to the passage of the Reform Act 1832.
The period often is characterized by a long Pacific time of consolidation of the economy, the colonial system and the industrialization, disturbed temporarily by the War of Crimea, although Great Britain was in war each and every one of the years of the period. Towards century aim, the policies Imperialism lead again to an increase of the conflicts in the colonies and with time to the Wars of the Bóer. In house, the agenda was more and more liberal with certain controlled exchanges to a political reform and the extension of the right to the vote. During the first part of the period the House of Commons was dominated by two parties, the Whig and the Tory. From the end of the decade of the 1850 the Whig became the Liberal ones. Diverse prominent men of State directed one or the other party, including a William Lamb, Sir Robert Peel, Edward Smith-Stanley, Henry John Weather, William Ewart Gladstone, Disraeli Youngest child and Robert Gascoyne-Cecil. The problems without solving in relation to the right of self-government of Ireland in the last played an important paper years of the Victorian era, particularly by the determination of Gladstone to reach a political agreement

The Victorian fascination with novelty resulted in a deep interest in the relationship between modernity and cultural continuities. Gothic Revival architecture became increasingly significant in the period, leading to the Battle of the Styles between Gothic and Classical ideals.

The middle of the century saw The Great Exhibition of 1851, the first World's Fair and showcased the greatest innovations of the century. At its centre was the Crystal Palace, an enormous, modular glass and iron structure - the first of its kind. It was condemned by Ruskin as the very model of mechanical dehumanisation in design, but later came to be presented as the prototype of Modern architecture. The emergence of photography, which was showcased at the Great Exhibition, resulted in significant changes in Victorian art. John Everett Millais was influenced by photography as were other Pre-Raphaelite artists. It later became associated with the Impressionistic and Social Realist techniques that would dominate the later years of the period in the work of artists such as Walter Sickert and Frank Holl.