In Modern Painters, John Ruskin urged artists to “go to nature in all singleness of heart… rejecting nothing, selecting nothing and scorning nothing; believing all things to be right and good, and rejoicing always in the truth.” The Pre-Raphaelites and their followers took this advice to heart. In Millais’ Ophelia, for example, we can see botanical details recreated with beautiful…
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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…
- Burne-Jones, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, John Atkinson Grimshaw, Maxfield Parrish, Mucha, myth, Nature, Tissot
Autumn Inspires
I find Autumn to be healing. Life takes on a distinctive flavor and the speed may be different, but the possibilities are endless. It’s an inspiring season that delights the senses with colors and smells in a way I find comforting. It’s no wonder that many artists and poets have paid homage to it in their works. James Tissot’s 1877…
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Marigolds, Sacred Flowers for the Dead
Our Halloween revelry is over and now we honor our ancestors with the Day of the Dead. Throughout Mexico and the Southwestern U.S., this is Dia de los Muertos, a special event that focuses on togetherness of family and friends and honoring those who have passed on. It is a beautiful way to honor the importance of family and it…
- 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…
