Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s narrative poem The Lady of Shalott was a subject that Pre-Raphaelite artists depicted repeatedly. Forbidden from interacting with the world, the lady lives a life of solitude, spending her time weaving elaborate tapestries as events of the world are reflected to her through a mirror. Both Tennyson’s poem and the plethora of … Read more
The Lady of Shalott Alfred, Lord Tennyson On either side the river lieLong fields of barley and of rye,That clothe the wold and meet the sky;And through the field the road runs by To many-towered Camelot; And up and down the people go,Gazing where the lilies blow Round an island there below, The island of Shalott. Willows whiten, aspens … Read more
William Holman Hunt, one of the founding members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, was born on this day in 1827. Today I’d like to share some of my favorite Holman Hunt works. 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 … Read more
Last week I posted Evelyn De Morgan’s Hope in a Prison of Despair (seen above) on the Pre-Raphaelite Sisterhood Facebook page. A happy byproduct of sharing things on the Pre-Raph Sisterhood Facebook page is that when people comment, like, or share the post, it pops up in my own feed again. I noticed that the … Read more
On this day in 1829, Elizabeth Eleanor Siddall was born (she dropped a letter L from her name when she became an artist). I write about her frequently on this site; she’s a woman I admire immensely. You can visit my other site, LizzieSiddal.com to see a timeline of her life, view her paintings, and … Read more
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 … Read more
Inspired by artist Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s passion for wombats, every Friday is Wombat Friday at Pre-Raphaelite Sisterhood. “The Wombat is a Joy, a Triumph, a Delight, a Madness!” ~ Dante Gabriel Rossetti The birthday of Alfred,Lord Tennyson was this week, which brings to mind one of my favorite passages from his poem Ulysses: Tho’ much … 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
I’m so grateful to singer Deborah Rose for sending me this photo of her with The Lady of Shalott for my museum pics gallery. But I can not simply add it to the gallery without creating its own blog post here, so that I can share her wonderful work with you. Deborah’s love of poetry … Read more
The Lady of Shalott film is one of the most beautiful projects I have ever seen. On an aesthetic level, it encompasses everything I love: diligence to history and craftsmanship, the poetry of Tennyson, and a lush, cinematic quality that allows you to briefly be cocooned into the medieval world of Elaine of Astolat. On … Read more
I am so excited that The Lady of Shalott in now available for purchase on DVD! The DVD includes: The DVD includes: A magical dramatisation of the poem, The Lady of Shalott. Alfred Tennyson (Ben Poole) reading the poem to an 1856 Christmas audience. An interview between Ben Poole (Tennyson) and Grace Timmins (TennysonResearch Centre, … Read more
The Lady of Shalott premiere will be on May the 15th at the Odeon Cinema, Lincoln (UK) at 10am. Visit their website for information about this stunning project. I plan to follow the progress of the film. As soon as information is available about purchasing it on DVD, I will share it with you. Personally, … Read more
WAG Screen has created a Facebook Fan Page for their current project, The Lady of Shalott film. If you’re a Facebook user, add them to your friends list. They’ve created a wonderful page with videos, stills, and news about the film. RELATED POSTS: About the Project Photo from Final Day of Filming Victoria Rigby as … Read more
The curse has come upon the Lady of Shalott… and”The mirror crack’d from side to side” The photo above is from the final day of filming of The Lady of Shalott film project. A previous post about this project can be read here and more photos can also be seen at The Beautiful Necessity here … Read more
I was browsing the artmagick forum when I discovered this exciting announcement: “2009 is the bicentenary of the birth of Alfred, Lord Tennyson here in Lincolnshire. As part of the celebrations a major exhibition of Pre-Raphaelite art, including some of Waterhouse’s works, will be shown at The Collection, Lincoln from May.” “WAG Screen is also … Read more