Claudio and Isabella, painted by William Holman Hunt, is based on Shakespeare’s play Measure for Measure. “The choice of such a scene is typical of Hunt’s preoccupation with sin and guilt and his intensely moralistic approach to art.” Christopher Wood, The Pre-Raphaelites. The title of the play stems from the biblical book of Matthew: With … Read more
A Scene from “As You Like It” by Walter Howell Deverell The Painting: Deverell took great pains with As You Like It. Lucinda Hawksley describes the outdoor modeling session in her book Essential Pre-Raphaelites saying “According to legend, the models were expected to stand in a Surrey wood — in all weathers — for hours … Read more
I am beginning a series of posts that focuses on Pre-Raphaelite representations of Shakespeare’s works. I felt the perfect painting to start with is Walter Howell Deverell’s Twelfth Night, as it is one of the earliest Pre-Raphaelite pictures based upon a Shakespearian play and also happens to be the first painting that includes Elizabeth Siddal … Read more
The Blessed Damozel, painted by Sir Edward Burne-Jones, is based on a poem by Dante Gabriel Rossetti of the same name. Rossetti was nineteen when he wrote The Blessed Damozel, which tells the tale of two lovers who will one day be reunited in heaven. “The blessed damozel leaned out From the gold bar of … Read more