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35-411: The Fontana Modern Masters occupy a unique place in publishing history – not for their contents but their covers, which draw on the following developments in twentieth-century art and literature: The cover concept was the brainchild of Fontana's art director John Constable, who had been experimenting with a cover treatment based on cut-ups of The Mud Bath , a key work of British geometric abstraction by

70-567: A dispensation given by the government to the Jewish community in the 19th century. At the time, owing to the Christian observance of Sunday rest, no Sunday markets were open. Located at the junction of Cheshire Street and Sclater Street, the market sells bric-a-brac as well as fruit, vegetables and many other items. In 2015 it was identified by police as the focal point of a trade in stolen bicycles and bicycle parts, many taken from people employed in

105-507: A history of successive communities of immigrants in East End), and The Rag Factory on Heneage Street (once home to Turner Prize nominees Tracey Emin and Gary Hume , now a thriving arts space). The nearest London Underground stations are Aldgate East and Liverpool Street . A campaign was launched in 2006 to change the name of Aldgate East station to "Brick Lane", but received no official support. The nearest London Overground station

140-524: A rally to be held on 30 July 2006, but the demonstration passed without incident. Other notable books on the area are Salaam Brick Lane by Tarquin Hall , On Brick Lane (2007) by Rachel Lichtenstein and An Acre of Barren Ground by Jeremy Gavron. A large collection of photographs of the characters and salespeople who worked on the markets in Brick Lane were taken by Fran May between 1976 and 1978, whilst she

175-451: A rectangular bath of vibrant red surrounded by a landscape of mustard brown, arranged around a brown and black vertical element (perhaps a column at the baths). There is a suggestion that the bathers are waving their arms as if in a Bacchanalian revel. The scene is based on Schewzik Russian Vapour Baths in Brick Lane , Whitechapel , near Bomberg's home in east London , which was used by

210-657: A regular display of graffiti, which features artists such as Banksy , Stik , ROA , D*Face , Ben Eine and Omar Hassan . The street has been used in many music videos, including " Glory Days " by Just Jack , " All These Things That I've Done " by The Killers , and " Überlin " by R.E.M. In 2023, some Chinese students painted the political slogan of the Chinese Communist Party , " Core Socialist Values ", in Chinese, sparking significant controversy. Large swathes of Brick Lane and its surrounding areas were once owned by

245-551: A series of crayon, gouache and chalk studies before the painting. The completed work measures 152.4 centimetres (60.0 in) by 224.2 centimetres (88.3 in). It was a key component in his one-man exhibition the Chenil Gallery in Chelsea in 1914. In addition to taking first place in the catalogue, the work was hung on the wall outside the gallery so that it could have "every advantage of lighting and space". A critic remarked that

280-461: Is Grade II* listed . In the 20th century the Brick Lane area was important in the second wave of development of Anglo-Indian cuisine , as families from countries such as Bangladesh (mainly the Greater Sylhet region) migrated to London to look for work. Some curry houses of Brick Lane do not sell alcoholic beverages, for most are owned by Muslims . According to EasyJet Traveller magazine ,

315-561: Is Shoreditch High Street station . This line runs on part of the former East London Line which has now been converted to London Overground. At the junction with Pedley Street existed the former Shoreditch Underground station terminus, which closed in 2006 due to the construction of the East London Line extension , and replaced by the aforementioned Shoreditch High Street. Remnants of the station can be seen from overground trains entering and leaving Liverpool Street station . The street

350-471: Is a 1914 oil-on-canvas painting by David Bomberg . The work is considered a masterpiece of Bomberg's work in this period. Bomberg was a founder member of the London Group , and the painting is considered a leading example of Vorticism , although Bomberg resisted being described as a Vorticist. The painting is a striking composition of human figures formed from white and blue geometric planes and angles, in

385-589: Is a famous street in the East End of London , in the borough of Tower Hamlets . It runs from Swanfield Street in Bethnal Green in the north, crosses the Bethnal Green Road before reaching the busiest, most commercially active part which runs through Spitalfields , or along its eastern edge. Brick Lane's southern end is connected to Whitechapel High Street by a short extension called Osborn Street . Today, it

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420-477: Is the heart of the country's Bangladeshi community with the vicinity known to some as Banglatown . It is famous for its many curry restaurants. The area surrounding Brick Lane and Spitalfields was branded as Banglatown in 1997, and the electoral ward of Spitalfields was changed to Banglatown & Spitalfields in 2002. The street was formerly known as Whitechapel Lane, and wound through fields. It derives its current name from brick and tile manufacture started in

455-456: Is the location for Monica Ali 's book Brick Lane , published in 2003, and the film of the same name of 2007 starring Tannishtha Chatterjee . The novel provoked a controversy with some of the local South Asian community because of a perceived negative portrayal of them. Parts of the Bengali community were particularly opposed to plans by Ruby Films to film parts of the movie based on the novel in

490-500: The City of London who had used "cycle to work" schemes. Alongside seven arrests, the police also warned purchasers that buying bicycles or parts in deals "too good to be true" could make them guilty of handling stolen goods . Near the junction with Hanbury Street are two indoor markets; Upmarket and Backyard Market. The Brick Lane Farmers' Market opened in 2010, intended to be held every Sunday in nearby Bacon Street; it has now closed. In

525-591: The Osborne (later Osborn after 1720) family, Baronets, of Chicksands in the County of Bedford . The family's holdings survived until at least the 1970s. The family's history continues to be reflected by the naming of streets in the area around Brick Lane, including: Nearby buildings of interest include Christ Church, Spitalfields , the Jamme Masjid or Great London Mosque on the corner of Fournier Street (the building represents

560-490: The 15th century, which used the local brick earth deposits. The street featured in the 16th-century Woodcut map of London as a partially developed crossroad leading north from the city's most easterly edge, and by the 17th century was being developed northwards from the Barres (now Whitechapel High Street ) as a result of expanding population. Brewing came to Brick Lane before 1680, with water drawn from deep wells. One brewer

595-506: The Brick Lane area and formed the "Campaign Against Monica Ali's Film Brick Lane". Consequently, the producers of the film used different locations for certain scenes, such as that depicting Brick Lane Market. Despite this, the director of the film, Sarah Gavron , attests on the DVD commentary of the film that genuine footage of Brick Lane does appear in the finished movie. Activists told The Guardian they intended to burn copies of Ali's book during

630-495: The Brick Lane area though they spread around the London city. In 1742, La Neuve Eglise , a Huguenot chapel, was built on the corner of Brick Lane and Fournier Street . By 1809, it was used by Wesleyan missionaries as The Jews' Chapel, where they promoted Christianity to the expanding Jewish population. It was adapted as a Methodist chapel in 1819 for Protestant residents. ( John Wesley had preached his first "covenant sermon" at

665-470: The Huguenots, the area became a centre for weaving, tailoring and the developing clothing industry. It continued to attract immigrants, who provided semi-skilled and unskilled labour. In the 19th century, Irish people and Ashkenazi Jews immigrated to the area. Jewish immigration continued into the early 20th century. The Sunday market, like those on Petticoat Lane and nearby Columbia Road , dates from

700-590: The Modern Masters series until a new art director, Patrick Mortimer, was appointed in 1980. Four more books followed under Mortimer with cover art by James Lowe based on circles: The cover concept was dropped after this and a new design was used that featured a portrait of the Modern Master as a line drawing or later a tinted photograph, and mixed serif and sans-serif typefaces, upright and italic fonts, block capitals, lowercase letters and faux handwriting. The design

735-475: The books' front endpapers which, for reasons unknown, had not been published: Shovlin then set out to paint these "lost" titles and thus "complete" the series. To do this he devised a "Fontana Colour Chart" based on the covers of the published books, and a scoring system that – like his paintings – was deliberately flawed. Given these flaws, and those in Fontana's original series, the absence of any modern masters from

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770-499: The entrance to Brick Lane and to 'Banglatown'. Like Brick Lane's lamp posts, the arch displays the red and green colours of the Bangladesh flag. Having contributed so significantly to the area, the Bengali community campaigned to get the arch installed to celebrate Bengali culture in Brick Lane. More recently the area has also broadened to being a vibrant art and fashion student area, with considerable exhibition space. Each year most of

805-432: The fine art and fashion courses exhibit their work near Brick Lane. Since the late 1990s, Brick Lane has been the site of several of the city's best known night clubs , notably 93 Feet East and The Vibe Bar , both built on the site of The Old Truman Brewery , once the industrial centre of the area, and now an office and entertainment complex. In 1999, it was the scene of a bombing that injured 13 people . Brick Lane has

840-481: The later 20th century, Bengali Muslims (specifically the Sylhetis ) comprised the major group of immigrants and gradually dominated the demography in the area. Many Bengali immigrants to Brick Lane were from the north-eastern region of Sylhet , of which became part of Bangladesh . These settlers helped shape Bangladeshi migration to Britain; many families from Beanibazar , Jagannathpur and Bishwanath tend to live in

875-416: The local Jewish population for cleanliness and for religious observances, including the mikveh ritual bath. Bomberg's Jewishness was a very important part of his identity as an artist. The bathing room, with a communal bath approximately 10-foot square and balcony above, was open to either men and women on different days, and may also have been the inspiration for his 1913 work, Ju-Jitsu . Bomberg created

910-538: The nearby Black Eagle Street Chapel ). Reflecting the changing demographics of the area, in 1898, the building was consecrated as the Machzikei HaDath , or Spitalfields Great Synagogue . After decades of change in the area, with Jews moving out and Bangladeshis moving in, in 1976 it was adapted again as the London Jamme Masjid (Great London Mosque) to serve the expanding Bangladeshi community . The building

945-569: The painter David Bomberg . However, a visit to the Grabowski Gallery in London introduced Constable to the work of Oliver Bevan , a graduate of the Royal College of Art in 1964, whose optical and geometric paintings were influenced by Vasarely's Op Art. On seeing Bevan's work, Constable commissioned him to create the covers for the first ten Fontana Modern Masters, which Bevan painted as rectilinear arrangements of tesselating blocks. Each cover

980-428: The set was complete and his replacement, Mike Dempsey , scrapped the set-of-ten incentive after eight books: Dempsey switched the covers to a white background and commissioned a new artist James Lowe, whose cover art for the next eight books in 1975-76 was based on triangles: Nine more books appeared in 1977–79 with cover art by James Lowe based on squares: Dempsey left Fontana Books in 1979 but continued to oversee

1015-757: The top three curry houses on Brick Lane in 2021 are Aladin, Sheba and City Spice. Bengalis in the United Kingdom settled in big cities with industrial employment. In London, many settled in the East End. For centuries the East End has been the first port of call for many immigrants working in the docks and shipping from Chittagong port in Bengal (the British Empire in India was founded and based in Bengal). Their regular stopover paved

1050-490: The visual arts is notable, since Matisse was one of four "forthcoming titles" that Shovlin had apparently overlooked: Benjamin and Matisse have since been included in a new series of seventeen large Fontana Modern Masters that Shovlin painted in 2011-12. These use a similar scoring system to his watercolours of 2003–05 and a new "Acrylic Variations Colour Wheel". The paintings are acrylic on canvas and each measures 210 x 130 cm: The Mud Bath The Mud Bath

1085-444: The way for food outlets to be opened; these catered at first for an all-male workforce, for family migration and settlement took place some decades later. Humble beginnings such as this gave rise to Brick Lane as the famous curry capital of the UK (alongside Birmingham 's Balti Triangle ). Designed by Meena Thakor, the ornamental Brick Lane Arch was erected in 1997 near Osborn Street to mark

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1120-710: The work was "rained upon, baked by the sun and garlanded with flags", but it did not entice many passing the gallery to enter. The London Chronicle noted that "The passers-by make no comment, because they do not recognise it as a picture". Bomberg recalled that as they turned the corner of King's Road, horses pulling the number 29 bus would shy at it. The work was purchased by the Tate Gallery in 1964, seven years after Bomberg's death. Brick Lane 51°31′19″N 0°4′18″W  /  51.52194°N 0.07167°W  / 51.52194; -0.07167 Brick Lane ( Bengali : ব্রিক লেন , romanized :  Brik Len )

1155-610: Was Joseph Truman, first recorded in 1683. His family, particularly Benjamin Truman , went on to establish the sizeable Black Eagle Brewery on Brick Lane. The Brick Lane Market first developed in the 17th century for fruit and vegetables sold outside the City. Successive waves of immigrants settled in the area. In the 17th century, French Huguenots expanded into the area for housing; the master weavers were based in Spitalfields . Starting with

1190-561: Was thus a piece of abstract art, but as an incentive for readers to buy all ten books the covers could be arranged to create a larger, composite artwork. The "set of ten" books appeared in 1970–71 but overran when Joyce was published with the same cover as Guevara : A second "set of ten" featuring a new Bevan cut-up was published in 1971–73 but the inclusion of Joyce in the first "set of ten" left this second set one book short: A third "set of ten" featuring Bevan's kinetic Pyramid painting began to appear in 1973–74 but Constable left before

1225-513: Was used for reprints and six new titles: Fontana's use of art as book covers went full circle in 2003-05 when the British conceptual artist Jamie Shovlin "reproduced" the covers of the forty-eight Fontana Modern Masters from Camus to Barthes as a series of flawed paintings (the titles are missing and the colours have run) in watercolour and ink on paper, each measuring 28 x 19 cm. However, Shovlin also noticed ten forthcoming titles listed on

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