A. W. N. Pugin (1812-1852) is most famous as the decorator of the Palace of Westminster in London. He had made careful study of the medieval woven silk textiles that were preserved in the cathedral treasuries of France. Such silks are also often represented in the backgrounds of late Gothic paintings. He made numerous rapid sketches of interesting examples, as well as of other patterns in different media. He also had an acute visual memory. This meant that he could draw on a large repertory of authentic details for his patterns. Wallpaper was not introduced to Europe until the 16th century, and so was a relatively new medium of decoration. But Pugin used large-scale patterns in the Gothic style and applied them boldly.