Demeter and Persephone

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In De Morgan’s painting,  we see Demeter as she mourns the loss of her daughter.  Stricken with grief,  she clasps her head–surrounded by shafts of wheat,  denoting Demeter’s role as goddess of the harvest. The tale of Demeter and Persephone personifies the depth of a mother’s love.  It is a myth about the death and … Read more

Pre-Raphaelites and Shakespeare: The Death of Lady Macbeth

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Macbeth is such a powerful play that we fear invoking the name of it in the theatre.  It’s one of Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies and with so many dramatic elements, I’m surprised that the Pre-Raphaelites did not illustrate it more.  Murder, greed, ambition, fear…Macbeth has it all. The Rossetti drawing above is a preliminary study for … Read more

Review: The Mystery of Princess Louise

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Lucinda Hawksley, undeterred by lack of access to certain archives,  has written a riveting account of Princess Louise.   Known as Queen Victoria’s rebellious daughter,  Louise was forward-thinking, artistic and outspoken. Ahead of her time,  Princess Louise proves herself to be a strong and independent woman in spite of her royal constraints. “She is very … Read more

Portrait of Margaret Burne-Jones

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Sir Edward Burne-Jones’ portrait of his daughter Margaret is another example of  mirror paintings that I adore. It’s not the mirror itself that I love; I am captivated by paintings whose mirrors that allow us a view of an opposite side of the room. Previous ‘mirror’ posts include Seeking out mirrors, Circe offering the cup … Read more

Miss Anne Ryan

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Anne Ryan is the lovely model whose mysterious fate we can never know.  Appearing in The Huguenot and The Proscribed Royalist, her later life is hinted at in The Life and Letters of Sir John Everett Millais: Alas for Miss Ryan! her beauty proved a fatal gift: she married an ostler, and her later history … Read more

The Art of Slumber

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The Sleeping Model by William Powell Frith is a work that I find incredibly interesting. The tedious act of sitting for the artist has caused the model to fall asleep. Undeterred by her slumber, he paints her face as if she is awake. The mannequin sprawled in the corner behind her seems curiously alert. It’s … Read more

Image of the Week: Cinderella

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Note the blue and white china in the background.  It was highly sought after by both Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Burne-Jones.  Elizabeth Siddal casually referenced this in a brief message to Georgiana Burne-Jones: My Dear Little Georgie, I hope you intend coming over with Ned to-morrow evening like a sweetmeat, it seems so long since … Read more

St. Martin’s Church in Brampton

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I am grateful to Dave Brooks for sharing his personal photos of  St. Martin’s Church in Brampton.  I would love to see this in person, especially with sunlight streaming through that glorious pelican.  Crafted by Burne-Jones, these are gorgeous examples of Pre-Raphaelite influenced stained glass.  

Monna Vanna

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Rossetti frequently used Alexa Wilding as a model. Tall and voluptuous, she appears in some of his most beautiful works. She is The Blessed Damozel, although she is frequently misidentified in that painting as Elizabeth Siddal. In Monna Vanna, Rossetti has cast Alexa in the role of a vain beauty. Her large-sleeved, opulent gown is … Read more

Ariadne

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Ariadne was a daughter of Minos, king of Crete.  She defied her father by helping his prisoner, Theseus, who had been imprisoned in the Minotaur’s labrynth.  Ariadne gave him the thread that he used to find his way to freedom after killing the monster.  In helping Theseus, she risked the anger and retribution of her … Read more

Fanny Cornforth’s Earrings

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Admittedly, my interest in the Pre-Raphaelites borders on the obsessive.  One of my favorite indulgences is searching for repetitive details, like these earrings: It’s a small thing to notice and I’m sure that the actual earrings themselves don’t hold any real significance other than they belonged to Fanny Cornforth.  But small details like this excite … Read more

To live forgotten, and die forlorn

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And on the liquid mirror glow’d The clear perfection of her face, ‘Is this the form,’ she made her moan, ‘That won his praises night and morn?’ –Alfred, Lord Tennyson Mariana in the South   Like the Lady of Shalott, Mariana lives a secluded existence. The subject of Mariana was visited twice by Tennyson, in … Read more

Image of the Week: Autumn Leaves

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Autumn Leaves , Sir John Everett Millais. Models: Millais’ sisters-in-law modeled for two of the girls, the other two were local girls, who also appeared in Millais’ painting The Blind Girl. John Ruskin, who incidentally has previously been married to the artist’s wife Effie Millais, wrote about Autumn Leaves, saying: “by much the most poetical work the artist … Read more