“Bloom where you are planted” is an adage we’ve all probably heard, and the sentiment is a positive one: do your best no matter what your circumstances. Clytie (above), painted by Evelyn De Morgan in the late 1880s, is perhaps an extreme example. De Morgan’s image is stunning, yet underneath that floral beauty is a darker story. You see, she…
-
-
On Storms
“Tones sound, and roar and storm about me until I have set them down in notes.” Ludwig van Beethoven I’ve mentioned Evelyn De Morgan’s painting The Storm Spirits on this site once before, when I was talking about how my moods are often directly tied to the weather. I love a good thunderstorm, there is something dramatic yet comforting to…
-
The Personification of Love
Today I have been pondering allegories of love in art. Namely, the choices artists make when representing the concept of Love in physical form. It is usually male and I assume that the root of this lies in Greek myths of Eros, god of love, or his Roman counterpart, Cupid. Seen above is Hope Comforting Love in Bondage by Sidney…
- Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Effie Millais, Evelyn De Morgan, fairy tales, Frederick Sandys, Keats, May Morris, Millais, Nature, Ophelia, Paintings, Robert Bateman, Shakespeare, William Holman Hunt
Botanical Paintings: My Top Picks
An important hallmark of Pre-Raphaelite art is truth to nature. Of course, there are many reasons why the art of the Pre-Raphaelites is so visually striking. Their subject matter often illustrates a compelling narrative, the vibrant hues they used results in a visually arresting effect that commands attention, and who can resist the beauty of a long-haired Pre-Raphaelite Stunner? For…
- Albert Joseph Moore, Alexa Wilding, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Evelyn De Morgan, Henry Alexander Bowler, Millais, Nature, Pre-Raphaelite Subjects and Themes, William Holman Hunt
The Symbolism of Lepidoptera
Truth to nature was one of the main tenets of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and an excellent example of this can be seen in the Death’s Head moth in William Holman Hunt’s painting The Hireling Shepherd (above). I’ve blogged about it many times before; it’s part of my Shakespeare post that I share yearly on the Bard’s birthday. William Holman Hunt…
