The Saloon, Brighton Pavilion 1821 - 1831

Auguste Charles Pugin rendered this watercolor of the Saloon in the Brighton Pavilion with a fascination for its exotic décor. Notice the recurring motif of the dragon, a powerful symbol throughout Asian cultures. Here, it sits atop the central chandelier, a nod to Chinese aesthetics popular during the Regency period. The dragon, traditionally representing power, strength, and good fortune, has slithered its way through centuries of art, appearing in ancient Greek mythology as a fearsome guardian and in medieval European lore as a symbol of chaos. The dragon embodies the human psyche's complex relationship with the unknown. The collective memory of this symbol, laden with both reverence and fear, engages our subconscious. The Saloon, with its dragons, evokes a sense of wonder and perhaps a touch of the uncanny, transporting us to a realm where East meets West, and ancient symbols are reborn in new contexts.