When I first discovered Pre-Raphaelite art, I was a seventeen year old girl with a passion for stories. Beautifully told stories. I was never a feel-good, always-a-happy-ending kind of girl. I liked a story with teeth and a hint of melancholy, stories with layers to unfold and explore. Pre-Raphaelite art is filled with such tales. Twenty-five years later, I have…
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That quivering expression
“Exquisite in every way; lovely in colour, most subtle the quivering expression of the lips, and sweetness of the tender face, shaken like a leaf by winds upon its dew, and hesitating back into peace.”–John Ruskin on Arthur Hughes’ painting April Love. *** In several of Hughes’ works, it is the evocative shades he uses that captivate me. The…
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Autumnal Beauty
I’m particularly happy to welcome Autumn this year, with its crisp breezes and the promise of adventure. Autumn Leaves, painted by Sir John Everett Millais, is a wonderful example of the beauty I find in the season. It is an impressive example of a Pre-Raphaelite twilight and Millais has captured an unmistakable Autumn glow. His models included his sisters-in-law Alice…
- Arthur Hughes, Arthurian Legend, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Elizabeth Siddal, Pre-Raphaelite Subjects and Themes, Tennyson, Waterhouse, William Holman Hunt
Four grey walls, and four grey towers
After posting about Evelyn De Morgan’s painting The Gilded Cage, I began to think about other paintings that depict women who are trapped and imprisoned in some way, paintings that prompt me to ponder limitations and boundaries. The Lady of Shalott is perhaps the most obvious example that comes to mind. Based upon the poem of the same name by…
- Arthur Hughes, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Elizabeth Siddal, Henrietta Rae, Jane Burden Morris, Lady of Shalott, Maria Spartali Stillman, Millais, Paintings, Photography, poetry, Pre-Raphaelite Subjects and Themes, Shakespeare, Tennyson, Valentine Cameron Prinsep, Waterhouse
The Unrequited Love of Mariana
Above is Sir John Everett Millais’ painting Mariana, which I’ve blogged about before in this post. Her dress is bluer than blue, the stained glass is exquisite, but let us have a moment of silence for the little mouse who died for Millais to include him in the work. “But where was the mouse to paint from? Millais’ father, who…
