Steampunk Art from the Industrial Revolution

Summary
What is Steampunk Art?

In today's society, it seems like anything and everything can be turned into an art form. You can take a simple photo of your lunch and turn it into a work of visual art that will be appreciated by everyone. However, there are people who believe that certain things should not be considered art.

But what is steampunk art ? And why do some people seem to despise it? Let's take a closer look at this unique form of expression and see if we can change some minds in the process.

For those who don't know, steampunk is a genre of speculative science fiction that features a fantastical Victorian era , such as airships and time machines, in an alternate history of the 19th century. Steampunk often incorporates Victorian aesthetics and imagines a world where technology has taken a different course than our own.

The Steampunk Art of Cinema


Steampunk Movies are covered in detail with our Top 20. Here I would just like to emphasize 3 of the most aesthetically interesting movies:

  • The first steampunk film is The City of Lost Children . This 1995 French film is set in a post-apocalyptic steampunk world where a mad scientist kidnaps children to steal their dreams. The City of Lost Children is visually stunning, with dark and surreal imagery that stays with you long after the credits roll. It’s also a surprisingly touching story, with characters that are easy to root for.
  • From Hell. This 2001 film starring Johnny Depp is based on the graphic novel of the same name by Alan Moore. From Hell tells the story of Jack the Ripper, but with a steampunk twist. Set in Victorian London, the film imagines a world where Jack the Ripper uses dark magic to kill his victims. From Hell is an atmospheric and chilling film, with excellent performances from its cast.
  • Finally, the baffling adaptation of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. This 2003 film follows a group of fictional literary characters—including Allan Quartermain, Captain Nemo, and Dracula—who team up to stop a villain from starting World War I. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen isn’t without its flaws, but it’s still an ambitious and fun steampunk adventure.

The best films about the Victorian era
These are just some of the steampunk movies , check out the dedicated article. If you are looking for something different from your usual movies, I invite you to watch them. You might be surprised how much you will enjoy them. The movies about the Victorian era are also particularly tasty.

Steampunk Art of Literature

Top 20 Steampunk Books

Steampunk literature is often set in alternate universes or historical periods, and steampunk novels typically feature protagonists who are ahead of their time and who use technologies that wouldn’t be invented for years to come. The roots of the genre can be traced back to well-known authors like HG Wells . We’ve ranked the best books from the Victorian era if you want to discover his classics and other works inspired by them.

While steampunk often draws inspiration from Victorian-era design, steampunk literature typically takes a more futuristic approach. This can be seen in popular steampunk novels like The Difference Engine and Leviathan. In these books, readers are transported to alternate worlds where steam-powered machinery is the norm.

The Steampunk Art of Music

Steampunk music is a very niche and underrated genre, yet some of the bands are extraordinary. They often take classic ragtime or jazz songs and give them a modern, industrial twist. The result is a sound that is both anachronistic and strangely timeless.

What is Steampunk Music?

Steampunk music often reflects the DIY aesthetic of the steampunk movement itself, with artists creating their own take on the genre. One of the most famous steampunk albums is Abney Park’s “Lost Horizons,” which combines Victorian-era sensibilities with a post-apocalyptic sensibility. The album’s artwork, which features steampunk versions of classic characters such as Sherlock Holmes and My Fair Lady, perfectly captures the steampunk aesthetic. If you’re looking for something new and different, steampunk music is definitely worth checking out.

Steampunk Architecture


Definition.


Steampunk architecture is an alternative version of the Victorian era where the industrial revolution gradually changed the old world with new practices. The grandiloquent, the large structures and even science fiction mix to create buildings in this very particular Victorian style. The materials are therefore metals (copper, brass, bronze, steel), wood, glass with impressive industrial frames. Often there is a romantic and nostalgic influence where sometimes the codes of Gothic mix with its dark and mysterious universe.

England during the Industrial Revolution | Steampunk Store



Everyone can imagine this very visual style with strong images present in the collective imagination such as large factories, large glass roofs sometimes gigantic (like the Grand Palais). We are treated to creations that seem to come out of the works of Jules Verne and HG Wells.

During the Victorian era , the widespread availability of water-powered and, later, steam-powered machinery made the manufacture of architectural details much less labor-intensive than before. Creative ornamental details no longer required the skills of a woodcarver, master carpenter, or stonemason, and many architectural elements could be manufactured in factories and ordered from catalogs, such as clocks or statues. In fact, architectural ornamentation became so inexpensive that several styles of homes in the United States are known for their overabundance of detail. Even industrial spaces were built with ornament.

The Nave of the Grand Palace | Steampunk Store


Some examples of Steampunk Architecture?

Everything you need to know about the Victorian House
Here's an example of a modest home. Well, maybe not so humble. The Carson Mansion in Eureka, California was built by William Carson, the owner of a local lumber company. It took four years to build, at a total cost of $80,000 (I guess lumber is cheap if you own the mill...). It is generally considered to be in the Queen Anne style , although if you look, you can find elements of several other Victorian styles . Unfortunately, it currently houses a private club and it is impossible to tour the interior.

Carson Mansion on the left / Armour-Stiner House on the right

steampunk house

A somewhat simpler, but no less whimsical, house is the Armour-Stiner House in Irvington, New York. This house followed a short-lived craze in the 1850s for octagonal houses, which offered the advantage of more floor space for a given length of perimeter wall, and the disadvantage of oddly shaped rooms. Built in 1850, it had a veranda that completely wrapped around the house. In the 1870s, the second owner added the dome and cupola, following the octagonal pattern. The cupola is also decorated with interestingly patterned slate tiles, a detail that is purely decorative.

Steampunk glasses collection

Industrially, the Victorians tried to make even the most mundane building interesting. Once the city of London finally had a functioning sewerage system, raw waste no longer flowed from open ditches directly into the Thames. Instead, it was collected in an efficient system of pipes and tunnels and directed more than 20km downstream where it was then discharged into the Thames. But the gradient was so gradual that pumping stations were needed to ensure that the sewage was discharged a good distance from the capital. Crossness Pumping Station was opened in 1865 and has been called "a Victorian cathedral of ironwork". Fortunately, when it was finally closed in the 1950s, it was uneconomical to remove the pumps, so they remained forgotten and untouched, awaiting the site's renovation that began in the 1980s and is still ongoing. Apparently part of Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey version) was filmed here. Now that I know this, I'll have to watch it again and look for ornate ironwork in the background.

pumping station | Steampunk Store


The steampunk building that may hold the record for filming locations is the Bradbury Building in Los Angeles. I have to admit that Los Angeles and Victorian architecture don't seem to go together in my mind, but apparently I'm wrong. The Bradbury Building was built as an office building in 1893. It features a central atrium topped with a skylight. Ornate cast iron banisters surround the atrium, which rises five stories. Old-fashioned "birdcage" elevators still carry people to the upper floors. The building has been used as a film and television location since the 1950s, most notably in Blade Runner (the building where JF Sebastian lives), but also for films ranging from DOA to The Artist , and too many television shows to mention.

bradbury_building

Paintings and other works of visual art.


The influence of the steampunk style is obvious. Many works, which often do not even call themselves retro-futuristic, incorporate a multitude of objects and concepts that come close to it.


Pete Amachree, the Victorian era sublimated.


Want a Steampunk or post-apocalyptic world where nature has reclaimed the Earth? Pete Amachree really knows how to create beautiful concept art. His creations are really well done and beautiful.

Woman with Black Umbrella by Pete Amachree

"There's something I find incredibly fascinating about painting these vast, imposing, seemingly Victorian cityscapes. Maybe it's a mental disorder I should seek treatment for. But for the last ten years or so, if I have a choice, that's what I'll probably end up painting."

Pete Amachree is a concept and texture artist in the film and video game industry. Based in the UK, he has worked for Cinesite, a visual effects company, as a texture artist and digital matte painter. He has held positions as a concept artist and texturist at Lionhead Studios for Fable, the video game, and as a designer at Leading Light Conceptual Design. Pete Amachree has contributed to film projects as a texture and digital matte painter for John Carter , among others.

Victorian Empire | Steampunk Store

"I recently watched Empire of the Seas on the BBC. A fantastic series about the history of the British Navy from Tudor times to the present day. This image was inspired by the episode which focused on the 18th century, and Britain's many wars with France and Spain. So here we have Admiral George Anson laying out his grand strategy with senior naval commanders at Navy HQ in Greenwich.

An artist to follow on ArtStation


Didier Graffet, the fantastic French industrial revolution.


Cocorico, a French artist well known to roleplayers and vaporists around here. Although his favorite themes are obviously very Steampunk, the author does not claim to be part of the genre but rather inspired by imaginary landscapes of all kinds.

Paris St Lazare by Didier Graffet

With a career spanning over 20 years, he has contributed to many magazine covers among others. He has produced paintings and books such as Effluvium or Steampunk: Of steam and steel. I have the entire reissue of Jules Verne 's classics that he also illustrated. An artist to discover if you haven't already, you can read aninteresting interview or go to the Bragelonne publishing house to learn more.

tarfalgar celebration by Didier Graffet

Jakub Rozalski, a unique science fiction world.

j. Rozalski, originally from Krakow, Poland, draws inspiration from classical paintings and modern techniques as well as a healthy dose of imagination. Jakub creates the most fantastic landscapes that have even inspired a board game .


"The most important thing in my work is to always create a unique atmosphere through stories, showing everyday situations in an unusual environment."

1920 Scythian J. Rozalsky | Steampunk Store

"I have been painting and drawing since I was a child. The choice of art studies was the natural order of things. I have an artistic background and education. However, I learned most of my skills by studying my favorite artists (and their paintings) such as Shishkin, Chelmonski or Brandt."

into the wild j. Rozalsky | Steampunk Store

The artist took his first steps on canvas and paper long before he discovered digital design. His works have the look of classical paintings with some modern techniques. Jakub experimented with style and technique to achieve this mix of impressionism and realism, in his own way, which suits him perfectly. Through his work, he tries to combine a classical style, modern design and interesting concepts.

dark_shogun j. Rozalsky | Steampunk Store


"For me, the most important thing in my work is to always create a unique atmosphere by telling stories, showing everyday situations in an unusual environment. I like more muted, more discreet colours, as well as more static compositions. I don't know why, I never thought about it. I just paint as I feel and as I like it. It's probably a reflection of my own nature, what I like and what interests me. I like wild environments, open spaces, muted and natural colours, winter, wild animals... werewolves. History and ancient beliefs are my great passion. They are a great source of inspiration for me and have a great influence on my work."

You can see more ofJ. Rozalsky's work on ArtStation .


Kazuhiko Nakamura, a Style between science and metal.

Kazuhiko Nakamura was born in Hyogo, Japan in 1961. Heavily influenced by surrealism and cyberpunk art styles in his youth, Kazuhiko began studying and learning the ins and outs of 3D digital art.

automaton kazuhiko nakamura | Steampunk Store

Using his free time for this, his practice snowballed into some amazing works. In 2004, his art was featured on major CGI art sites. Since then, Kazuhiko has received positive appreciation from other artists and his fans. One critic said, "Kazuhiko Nakamura's art is a surreal hybrid of man and machine, an uneasy marriage between metal and flesh." Enjoy!

requiem kazuhiko nakamura | Steampunk Store

Alan Moore will put stars in your eyes.


Alan Moore was and will be for a long time the king of dark and intellectual comics. The pioneer of serious superheroes retired having transformed the genre after 40 years of deconstructing the hero archetype.

v for vendetta | Steampunk Store

His singular and titanic career ended with The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen , his final contribution to an art form he transformed, sometimes to his chagrin. His work in the 1980s on Miracleman , a deconstruction of the superhero mythos, inspired so many imitators to darken once-childish heroes that Moore apologized for it more than once.

watchmen rorschach | Steampunk Store

But his greatest contribution to English literature is not DC's "coming of age" - a term that Moore says was invented to allow adults to "validate their continued love of Batman or Superman without appearing somehow emotionally stunted. Moore's non-superhero efforts, such as From Hell , Lost Girls and A Small Joke, are often cited as evidence of his literary merit. The storyline and individual characters are masterfully crafted, not to mention the art of his dark and beautiful, immersive panels.

league-of-extraordinary-gentlemen steampunk



Alan Moore would be the first to tell you that seriousness is not always a virtue, but his was profoundly transformative. And for many readers, myself included, it was a great relief to be taken seriously as a reader of something supposedly subliterate and stupid, to be treated with intelligence and care, and to be introduced to Moore’s rebellious morality: his passionate feminism, his suspicion of authority and wealth, his love of normal people, and his veneration of unity, especially in the face of the despair of the real world. His gifts for cruelty and horror inspired lesser competitors to enter the field, but it was his unexpected gentleness that brought readers back into his fold.

Steampunk Art Sculpture


Hasan Novrozi


Hasan Novrozi, a talented sculptor trained in Iran, has created a wonderful collection of steampunk animal sculptures that are full of life and emotion, despite being painstakingly assembled from thousands of pieces of metal, automotive components, and other scrap metal.

In addition to his epic Pegasus statue, he has also created other creatures in a variety of styles, all of which are amazing!


steampunk animals by hasan novrozi | Steampunk Store

His more heavily welded animal sculptures remind us of those magical animal sculptures by Ellen Jewett, while his steampunk pegasus reminds us of those life-like steampunk animal sculptures by Igor Verniy.

hasan-novrozi-sculpture

Novrozi also sculpts with clay and other materials, check out his Facebook to learn more.


Igor Verny


An artist who creates Steampunk animals from parts of vintage cars, watches and electronic devices. When working with metal, it takes a true master to bring his work to life.

"Don't hesitate to dream childishly about unattainable things, because it always pushes people forward."

steampunk pigeon igor verniy | Steampunk Store

Russian artist Igor Verny does just that with his beautiful and elegant sculptures of articulated steampunk animals. Their moving parts and Verniy's attention to detail make them come alive.

“At heart, I am an artist, and I see the beauty of this world in bright colors, but I am also a technician. The combination of these two qualities led to the creation of metal models.”

igor verniy | Steampunk Store


A lot of work goes on behind the scenes before Verny creates his works. He observes the living specimens of his creations to make sure he captures their movements. Then, he assembles them from various scrap pieces - old car parts, bicycle parts, clock movements, dishes and anything else that lends itself to forming a unique work.

steampunk goose Igor Verniy | Steampunk Store



"I draw inspiration from the outside world, especially biology and the question of the origin of life, and all natural sciences, and dreams about the future of human civilization."

death cat - igor verniy | Steampunk Store



"A lot of people bring me old stuff that I can tinker with in my shop, but I also buy a lot of stuff at flea markets and collect stuff from my brothers' and friends' garages. All the pieces are categorized."

You can followIgor on his Facebook


Sue Beatrice


Check out Sue Beatrice's sculptures, made entirely from recycled watch parts. These beautiful steampunk art sculptures are part of the All Natural Arts project, created by American artist and designer Sue Beatrice.

susan beatrice art | Steampunk Store

The project involves sculpting, painting and making eco-friendly jewelry. This one-of-a-kind art combines talent and imagination with a love of nature. Susan's art collection also includes jewelry made of glass, stones and other natural elements as well as antique jewelry.


Made entirely from watch parts, except for the square silver wire "ribbon" and the guitar string hair. None of the parts have been cut or drilled, they have been used as is.

steampunk susan beatrice watch | Steampunk Store

A stunning artist who has created some magnificent pieces. Find out more onhis website and shop .

Steampunk Decoration Elevated to the Rank of Art?

A popular decorating style that combines steampunk aesthetics with elements of metalwork, painting, and other worldly styles. A platform that sells this decor often features a wide variety of metal art, paintings, and other inspired decor items. The community even has a strong DIY trend.

14 Tips for Perfect Steampunk Decor

Many art fans enjoy collecting objects themed around the Industrial Revolution and its science fiction-inspired steam engines , and some even use steampunk art to decorate their homes in a Victorian-inspired style.

If you are looking for steampunk decoration ideas, do not hesitate to check out our blog article on 14 tips for a perfect decoration to inspire you. You will also find in the decoration collection , clocks, steampunk lamps , paintings and other steampunk objects . Happy shopping!

Steampunk Shop

See you soon Vaporists, for a new article on the exciting world of STEAMPUNK.