La Belle Dame sans Merci translated from the French means “the beautiful lady without pity” or “the beautiful lady without mercy”. It is possible that the poem is based on the ballad of ‘True Thomas’, also known as ‘Thomas the Rhymer’, which tells how a man was enchanted by the queen of Elfland and lured … Read more
In 1859, Dante Gabriel Rossetti painted Bocca Baciata and it was a radical change for him in style. Afterwards, his work gravitated towards images of a single female, quite often depicted from the bust up and surrounded by flowers, jewelry, and other symbolic objects. Why the change? In the late 1850’s Rossetti had definitely matured … Read more
Seven years after her death, the coffin of Elizabeth Siddal was exhumed so that her husband, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, could publish the poetry he had buried with her. It was a secret act, yet eventually the deed came to be known and has added a macabre tinge to the tale of Elizabeth Siddal. Rossetti … Read more
I’ve just finished reading Sharon Biggs Waller’s new YA book, A Mad, Wicked Folly and I thoroughly loved every second of it. I always enjoy seeing Pre-Raphaelite art woven into a fictional setting and in this particular case, it was well-crafted and expertly done. Victoria Darling is a girl born of privilege, yet she is … Read more
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
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
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
Copperhead Productions and Peter Huntley Productions present THE WORLD PREMIERE OF LIZZIE SIDDAL A NEW PLAY BY JEREMY GREEN AT THE ARCOLA THEATRE from Wednesday 20 November – Saturday 21 December 2013 The Victorian art world. ‘To yearn for something – doesn’t that make life more intense?’ Lizzie Siddal, a new play about the woman … Read more
“The mirror crack’d from side to side;“The curse is come upon me,” criedThe Lady of Shalott.“ Forbidden from interacting with the world, Tennyson’s Lady of Shalott lives a life of solitude, spending her time weaving elaborate tapestries as events of the world are reflected to her through a mirror. Our modern eyes may read … Read more
When Psyche is distraught over the loss of her love Eros, she attempts suicide in a river. She survives and the god Pan offers her comfort and advice. Burne-Jones painted this version of Pan and Psyche after his lover, Maria Zambaco, attempted to throw herself in Regent’s Canal in an ugly and embarrassing scene. It … Read more
In my previous post about The Beloved, I mentioned the woman in the right area of the painting: For the woman on the right, Rossetti used a model named Keomi Gray. I’ve desperately searched for more information about her, but it’s quite difficult. There doesn’t seem to be much written about her and if anyone … Read more
Thank you to Jack Challem for sharing this little beauty. Apparently, my plans for Pre-Raphaelite world domination are afoot (insert maniacal laughter here). On this Apple ad for the iPad mini you can glimpse info for the Tate’s Pre-Raphaelites: Victorian Avant-Garde exhibit, with a detail from Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s The Beloved. Here’s the full version … Read more
Of all of our Unexpected Pre-Raphaelite Sightings, this one surprised me the most. We are avid Netflix users and my daughter and I have been watching Cheers together. We started at episode 1 a few months ago and we reached season 10 over the weekend. We just watched season 10’s Halloween episode and you can … Read more
Delaware Art Museum has posted this image on their Facebook page, and I am grateful that they allowed me to share it here as well. Here we see museum staff in the Pre-Raphaelite gallery, circa 1938:
Another siting for the Unexpected Pre-Raphaelite Sightings list. Alexandrion Drallipo has noticed a William Morris wallpaper pattern in the movie Nim’s Island. This is the Arbutus pattern, seen here in screen caps:
I love this. Via the Pre-Raphaelite Sisterhood Facebook page, Rosemary Aquilina shared her brilliant discovery of a coloring book version of Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s La Ghirlandata: Rosemary says “I spotted La Ghirlandata in my little sister’s coloring book! I was flipping through many pages of this:” “when THIS stopped me in my tracks!” It is … Read more
This post is a departure for me, I’ve never recommended a book on this blog that was not strictly Pre-Raphaelite. However, I believe that readers of my blog will appreciate this beautiful new book by Theodora Goss. The Thorn and the Blossom is one of the most unique books I have ever seen. It … Read more
Alexandrion Drallipo (and her excellent Pre-Raphaelite eye) has once again given me a wonderful sighting for the Unexpected Pre-Raphaelite Sightings list. Thanks for the screen cap! This is from The Thomas Crown Affair (1999) with Pierce Brosnan and Renee Russo. Unfortunately, my mind has gone blank and I can’t identify the painting. It looks like … Read more
I have just purchased a copy of Vogue for the first time in my life. The Pre-Raphaelite themed photographs are stunning. This one, on the letter from the editor page, is inspired by Rossetti’s Helen of Troy. That painting also happens to be one of the most googled images that leads new visitors to … Read more
New sightings to add to the ever-growing list of Unexpected Pre-Raphaelite Sightings in movies or television. Via this blog’s Facebook page, Alexandrion Drallipo has sent me two screen caps from An Education, a movie that several people have recommended to me. I haven’t seen it yet, but it’s languishing in my Netflix queue. I hope … Read more
Jan Marsh briefly describes Annie Miller’s childhood in Pre-Raphaelite Sisterhood (not associated with this website) as horribly poor and unhygienic, saying that a neighbor had described Annie and her sister as “dirty and covered with vermin”…and that Annie’s hair was particularly “wild and filthy”. Annie’s mother had died some time after her birth, leaving … Read more