Above is Sir John Everett Millais’ painting Mariana, which I’ve blogged about before in this post. Her dress is bluer than blue, the stained glass is exquisite, but let us have a moment of silence for the little mouse who died for Millais to include him in the work. “But where was the mouse to … Read more
The Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery is currently preparing their latest exhibit: Love is Enough: William Morris and Andy Warhol: Love is Enough draws together iconic and rarely seen works by two giants of the 19th and 20th centuries – William Morris and Andy Warhol. The Birmingham showing of this exhibition will see Birmingham Museum … Read more
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
Alice in Wonderland has a strong hold on our popular culture. Over a century has passed since it and the sequel Through the Looking Glass were written and Alice’s strange journeys charm us still. How many times can we reinterpret this book on screen? It seems to be an endless source of inspiration and the … Read more
Sir Edward Burne-Jones’ painting King Cophetua and the Beggar Maid is based on the story of an African King who had never felt any attraction towards women until he spotted a beggar woman. In this tale of love at first sight, King Cophetua declares that despite her low social standing, she will be his queen. … 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
The tale of Thisbe comes from book four of Ovid’s Metamorphoses. In ancient Babylon, the families of Pyramus and Thisbe live in separate houses that share a roof. Over time, the two youths fall in love but are forbidden by their parents to see each other. Undaunted, the lovers use a crack in the wall … Read more
“Our sweetest songs are those that tell of the saddest thought” –Percy Bysshe Shelley At what point in human history did we decide that in music, a slow tempo is sad while upbeat music with a faster beat is happy? Instinctively we have always known that certain music and art reflects a sense of melancholy. While … 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
Mauvais Sujet is not your stereotypical, chocolate-box-pretty Victorian portrait. She’s almost uncomfortable to look at, as she is both very young and almost sensual. On her desk you can see her name, Mary, scrawled in a childlike hand. I’m not exactly sure what Madox Brown wants us to feel about her. She’s obviously idle, choosing … Read more
Orpheus was given his lyre by the god Apollo and it was the Muses that taught him how to play. His gift for music enchanted all living things: wild beasts, trees and even stones. After his journeys with the Argonauts, Orpheus married his love Eurydice. When Eurydice died from a snake bite, grief-stricken Orpheus felt … 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
As I mentioned in Rossetti and the art of death, Edgar Allan Poe was a great influence on DGR’s work. The Raven is a prime example of Poe’s poetry influencing Rossetti’s. It was a catalyst for The Blessed Damozel, where Rossetti reversed the conditions of The Raven in order to tell the story from the deceased lover’s … Read more
“It is a subject from an old story of mine — a woman dying while her lover is painting her portrait” (Dante Gabriel Rossetti) This is a story of beauty, art, and death. The study for Bonifazio’s mistress captures a scene from Rossetti’s story St. Agnes of Intercession. It was intended to be published in … Read more
After my post about Clytie changing into the sunflower, I’ve been pondering transformations. Lamia is perhaps my favorite example of a dramatic transformation. Based on the poem by John Keats, Waterhouse depicts Lamia after she has transformed from serpent to woman. I adore the vivid imagery of Keats’ poem (She was a gordian shape of … Read more
Le Morte d’Arthur captivated Edward Burne-Jones. His passion for all things Arthurian dated back to his days as an undergraduate at Oxford, when he and close friend William Morris would read the tales together. Burne-Jones painted Arthurian subjects several times in his career, including the famous The Last Sleep of Arthur in Avalon. Merlin was … 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
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
“He does not love me for my birth, Nor for my lands so broad and fair; He loves me for my own true worth, And that is well,” said Lady Clare. Published in 1842, Lady Clare is a romantic ballad by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. Exploring issues of class, marriage and honesty, Lady Clare is the … Read more
The Sleeping Model by William Powell Frith is a work that I find incredibly interesting. The tedious act of sitting for the artist has caused the model to fall asleep. Undeterred by her slumber, he paints her face as if she is awake. The mannequin sprawled in the corner behind her seems curiously alert. It’s … Read more
In my previous post I mentioned the adaptation of Keats’ Lamia on BBC Radio 4. The broadcast can be purchased and downloaded from AudioGo. Thank you Cathy Baker for sharing the link with me! I downloaded and listened to it and it is a beautiful reading and a perfect way to start my morning.
I just discovered that in January there was an adaptation of Keats’ Lamia on BBC Radio 4. I’m sorry that I missed that. Lamia is one of my favorite works, here are two passages I enjoy the most. (You can read the complete poem here) Lamia has vivid imagery: “She was a gordian shape of … Read more
I’ve recently read Undine by Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué. Written in the early 1800s, it is a classic fairy tale in which Undine, an elemental water spirit, marries a human in order to gain a soul. It may be derived from the tale of Melusina. (I prefer Melusina, who seems to have a strength … Read more
As mentioned in my previous post, I am making an effort to start archiving my web interactions that are related to this site. I recently posted How They Met Themselves, Rossetti’s painting of medieval doppelgangers (I also mentioned this work in Pre-Raphaelites, Doctor Who and how you see the world). So, with doppelgangers on the … Read more