The Bridge of Sighs is delicate, full of pathos, and represents the plight of any young woman in the Victorian era who has been unfortunate enough to lose her virtue. This brings to mind the double standard that persists in many cultures to this day: no one seems to mourn a male who loses his … Read more
Beatrice Buckstone posed for three of Millais’ works. She was the granddaughter of actor/comedian John Baldwin Buckstone. Finding Shakespeare has an interesting post showing Buckstone’s guestbook signature on his visit to the Bard’s birthplace, along with biographical information about the actor. Millais’ son wrote about her in The Life and Letters of Sir John … Read more
The day has its own bright beauty. Morning may bring the possibility of a new beginning, but at night, everything slows down and the world takes on a different mood. Night wears a deeper hue, things become varying shades of blues and purples. It’s a slower form of beauty. Introspective and melancholy. Is it any wonder … Read more
When Millais first exhibited this painting at the Royal Academy, he displayed it with these lines of Tennyson: She only said, ‘My life is dreary- He cometh not’ she said She said ‘I am aweary, aweary – I would that I were dead.’ –From Tennyson’s poem Mariana The subject of Mariana was visited twice by … Read more
And her enchanted hair was the first gold./And still she sits, young while the earth is old –from Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s sonnet Lady Lilith Lilith appears here with pale skin and clad in a white gown, making her luxurious hair the most vivid thing in the room. In this painting, Dante Gabriel Rossetti is not … Read more
When it comes to ghost stories, the Victorians were absolutely the best. It was an era that birthed Industrialism and scientific discovery, yet people held firmly to superstition and folklore. Death closely hovered around every family, regardless of wealth or class. Mourning was so common that there were societal rules about it that were to … Read more
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 … Read more
In The Tempest, Shakespeare tells us the story of Prospero, duke of Milan. Prospero was dethroned by his brother Antonio and abandoned at sea with his three year old daughter Miranda. Eventually they landed on an enchanted island, where the sole inhabitant is the creature Caliban. Prospero works his magic and places Caliban and all … Read more
In Rossetti’s 1853 drawing Boatmen and Siren, one of the boatmen is captivated by the siren, but is saved from certain death by his companion. The accompanying inscription was written by Jacopo da Lentino, a Italian poet of the Rennaissance era whose work was translated by Rossetti in The Early Italian Poets: I am broken, … Read more
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
The scene where Queen Gertrude describes Ophelia’s death in Hamlet is one of the most poignant moments in Shakespeare’s play. When John Everett Millais painted Ophelia he chose to depict her in the moments just before she drowns. Ophelia is a shining example of the Pre-Raphaelite artist’s desire to depict truth in nature. In the … Read more
Apple Blossoms captures a relaxing outing on a spring day. Liverpool Museums points out that there are many different ways to interpret this painting, especially with the odd appearance of a scythe on the right hand side of the picture. On the face of it, this is a picture about youth and beauty, but it has … Read more
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
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
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
From The Life and Letters of Sir John Everett Millais by his son John Guille Millais. Chapter II: Pre-Raphaelitism: Its Meaning and Its History In this chapter I propose to devote myself exclusively to the history and progress of the Pre-Raphaelite movement, with which Millais was so intimately connected in the early years of his … Read more
About a year ago, I was lucky enough to acquire a two volume set of The Life and Letters of Sir John Everett Millais, written by his son in 1898. It’s a beautiful set that I’ve longed to own, but was unable to give it the attention it deserves as my husband was still recuperating … Read more
William Holman Hunt painted The Light of The World in 1853, not too long after the founding of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in 1848. He used model Elizabeth Siddal to paint Christ’s hair; Christina Rossetti was the model for the head. It was at this point that we see that Siddal was no ordinary model, for … Read more
Phaidon has released a new book on artist John Everett Millais and if you use coupon code PR35JM at checkout, you will receive 35% off. This offer is only valid when you purchase directly from Phaidon, not applicable at other online book sellers. I haven’t read the book yet, but it looks wonderful. According to … Read more
Lauren Laverne shares two examples of muses: Ophelia by Sir John Everette Millais and The Only Blond in the World by Pauline Boty. I love how she describes both:
John Ruskin was an an author, art critic, and social reformer who was an early champion of Pre-Raphaelite ideals. Interestingly, he was also the patron who supported the work of Elizabeth Siddal. His marriage to Euphemia Chalmers Gray, known as Effie, is universally described as a disaster. The story goes that Ruskin rejected Effie on their … Read more
If you are reading Mortal Love along with us, you may have noticed that part one of the book is titled The Green Girl. It strikes me as such a perfect phrase when dealing with anything that even remotely alludes to the Pre-Raphaelites. This post isn’t really about Mortal Love, I’ll save that for later. … Read more
This is the first work Millais painted as a member of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. Lorenzo and Isabella is based on Keats’ poem Isabella, or, the Pot of Basil. I’ve touched on the poem briefly in this post about William Holman Hunt’s painting of the same subject. Basically, Isabella and Lorenzo fall in love. Her brothers … Read more
After the previous posts about repeated use of objects in Pre-Raphaelite art (Rossetti and His Baubles and Hair Adornment in Rossetti Paintings), I have taken to scouring images for props used repeatedly. One of which is this silver ornament or pillar I’ve seen in both The Bridesmaid and Mariana by Sir John Everett Millais: In … Read more