Book review: That Summer by Lauren Willig

That Summer was tremendous fun to read, especially if you have an interest in the Pre-Raphaelites.  Lauren Willig adroitly weaves together two tales that take place in two different time periods:  one in 1849, the other in 2009. In 2009, Julia Conley unexpectedly inherits a house outside of London.  Herne Hill is a family home … Read more

Rossetti’s Day Dream

One of Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s last paintings shows Jane Morris in a world of green.  She’s surrounded by foliage, seemingly lost in a day dream while her book lies ignored on her lap.  Her hand loosely holds a honeysuckle. Jane is  clad in a similar dress to the one she wore in Proserpine, where she is … Read more

Love, Death and Potted Plants

William Holman Hunt’s Isabella and the Pot of Basil is currently in the news with the recent announcement that the Delaware Art museum will be auctioning the painting tomorrow.  The work has been in their collection since 1947 and it is sad news indeed that the Delaware has to sell it and three other works … Read more

Aurora

A small pocket-book of this time contains a note made by Edward from a canal-bridge in a poor quarter of the city, which nearly thirty years afterwards he developed into the background of his “Aurora”.  The main outlines of building and canal are preserved in the picture, and Aurora with her cymbals comes lightly stepping … Read more

A Friday the 13th #WombatFriday

This week, Wombat Friday falls on Friday the 13th AND a full moon.  Our wombat hero visits Luna by Sir Edward Burne-Jones. You can follow the weekly #wombatfriday madness on Twitter (here’s the #wombatfriday hashtag link; you can follow me on Twitter as @beguilingmerlin). If you are a Facebook user, connect with me on the … Read more

The Mirror of Venus

Burne-Jones’ painting The Mirror of Venus is a celebration of female beauty.  Ten women, often identified as Venus and her attendants, gather around their own watery reflections.  The landscape is no rival for their beauty — it’s a bleak land that was described by author Christopher Wood as ‘strangely lunar’. The painting doesn’t offer us … Read more