Sunday, June 28, 2009

"Waterhouse" painting on ebay



Last night I discovered a "Waterhouse" painting on ebay. The description elaborates that it was probably painted by someone contemporary to Waterhouse, from his circle, but apparently the painting has been written on the back "study by Waterhouse." I don't think this piece is by him...the style just isn't right, even for a sketch...but it IS a lovely rendition of the Lady of Shalott from an artist of the same period. The look on her face as she turns and sees the mirror crack is beautiful.

Auction ends in just a couple of hours! :)

Desperate Romantics -- Finally a Snippet More




Finally, after months and months of no information, I gleaned a link tonight on Desperate Romantics with 3 images from the miniseries!

The info on the page:

A preview screening of the first episode of this major new BBC drama series. Set in and among the alleys, galleries and flesh-houses of 19th-century industrial London, Desperate Romantics follows the life and love affairs of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, a group of revolutionary artists as well-known for their intertwining love lives as for their ground-breaking paintings. The scandalous love triangles with their models became the subject of much gossip among their contemporaries, particularly as these relationships often crossed the class barriers of polite Victorian society.

We hope to welcome for an onstage discussion and Q&A the writer Peter Bowker, producer Ben Evans, co-executive producer Franny Moyle, whose book of the same name inspired the series, and (work commitments permitting) some members of the cast.

I have to admit, the images are...hmm...rather...generic-looking to me? I've maintained the attitude that any publicity is good publicity, even for over 100-year-dead artists, but...I just don't know what I think. It's still early to tell.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Waterhouse purses


Oh, for a limitless budget! Thanks to Jen again for sending me the link to these absolutely stunning Waterhouse art purses. I especially adore The Soul of the Rose one, and would buy it in a heartbeat if I could.




Wednesday, June 24, 2009

It's Here!!!


Apologies for my silence. I had a birthday on Monday, and I had intended to do a post full of things I love, in selfishness for the event. But I ended up coming down with some bug, and was laid up till now.

But what a reason to emerge! Thanks to the Pre-Raphaelite Sisterhood for the heads-up, but The Lady of Shalott is now available for purchase on DVD!!!

Friday, June 19, 2009

Burne-Jones Quote for Friday


"[I] lived inside the pictures and from the inside of them looked out upon a world less real than they."


--Burne-Jones, in a letter to May Gaskell



I've started the book May and Amy, and only one chapter in, I already found the above divine quote from Edward Burne-Jones.

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Agent Provocateur

Thanks to Jen for indirectly calling this to my attention (she "liked" the video on Facebook)

Upscale lingerie store Agent Provocateur apparently has a new add campaign entitled "Sirens." If you go to their website, there's a flash page where one can click on links and watch different videos. Warning...these videos are definitely NSFW! (Not Safe For Work) and contain nudity. However, they are also saturated with Pre-Raphaelite imagery! For instance, recognize these poses?


Hmm?

Or perhaps...
Hmm?

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Doodles

A couple of doodles I've done recently on receipt paper, familiar themes.

Cartoony Lady of Shalott

Isabella and the Pot of Basil

And a sketch for a new painted box, European ballad, Lady Isabel and the Elf Knight.


Happy Wednesday!

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Ophelia Sculpture



First, thanks so much for all the responses so far on yesterday's post! I'm going to give it a few more days for discussion, and then post some of the interesting things people have said as a follow-up blog.

Second, thanks to my LJ friend, swandog, who directed my attention to this Deviantart sculpture this morning. I had to immediately post it here.


Click to embiggen, as always.

Absolutely gorgeous.

Monday, June 15, 2009

Pre-Raphaelites and "Hippie Beads"

Portrait of Georgie Burne-Jones by Rossetti

It all started with the Lady of Shalott. Ever since I first fell in love with that artwork at the age of 15, I stared at it constantly, taking in every detail. I dreamed of being the lady. But I thought..."why does she look a little like a hippie?" It was the headband. With the wooden beaded necklaces. But the artwork was produced long before even the oldest hippies were ever conceived.


Then I started my in-depth fascination with the Pre-Raphaelites themselves, and noticed, in portrait after portrait, the actual family members of the Brotherhood wore long beaded necklaces made from what appear to be smoothly hewn, simple materials.

(Various pictures of the Burne-Jones and Morris children at different ages)








Finally, the Pre-Raphaelite Sisterhood did a post about jewelry in Rossetti's art, and I saw the coral necklace he uses in many repeated paintings. I thought "what IS it with these beads??" and thought I'd investigate.


Well...investigation yielded...nothing. I am now utterly intrigued by these necklaces, seemingly so very intrinsic to the Pre-Raphaelite fashion. Why? Who started it? And was it just a Pre-Raphaelite style choice, or was it part of a larger fashion trend?

Anyone with any answers, please feel free to post them!

Sunday, June 14, 2009

A lovely quote

"O how I long to keep the world from narrowing in on me, and to look at things bigly and kindly!"
-William Morris



(photo is of his children, and those of Burne-Jones)

Thursday, June 11, 2009

The Wandering Heart


Apologies for my recent absence. Husband and I have been resolved to start living healthier, so we've been doing a lot of active things this week. So far, so good!

Today I wanted to mention a book I just read, The Wandering Heart. I picked this up at the library because I occasionally do keyword searches in Amazon to see if there are any new PRB source books. The description on Amazon of this book mentioned that one of the characters had an affair with Rossetti, and I was intrigued. I wasn't expecting the book itself to be so good!

I like to describe it as a combination of Mortal Love with Possession...add a dash of the amazing film, The Innocents. In this tale, a modern history professor is given a chance to catalogue and document a collection of items gathered by a member of Cook's sea voyages. The collector was a member of an upstanding British aristocratic family, and thus the setting becomes deliciously gothic, as she travels to a family castle, and explores it. The plot thickens as she sorts through the family memorabilia, and discovers poetry written in almost every century repeating the same line: "Where is his heart?" She thus uncovers a family curse, and realizes she may be at more risk than she thought.

The book is really outstandingly written, combining historic details and gothic creepiness. I read large portions of it late at night, and felt a bit nervous to turn out the light.

My only complaint about the book is the author's heavy-handed discussion of the morality of the aristocracy. Because frankly, I'm in disagreement with her on the issue, and it took me out of the tale quite abruptly every time she insisted on cramming her message down my throat. But otherwise, the book was absolutely divine.

The Rossetti connection in the story comes from a family member who lived in the late 1800s. She became Rossetti's lover after Lizzie Siddal died, and stayed with him through his dark times until he died. A portrait Rossetti painted of her plays prominently in the story, and I enjoyed the author's description of a nonexistent, very Rossetti-sounding painting. Part of me was bemusedly saddened by the concept of this figure existing in Rossetti's life. What if she really had existed? Would Rossetti ever have painted Jane Morris, or had an affair with her? Would Jane have just found someone else, or would the Morris marriage be strengthened? My interest in the Pre-Raphaelites distracted me from the novel's story for a little while as I pondered the implications.

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

The Groninger Waterhouse Exhibit Photos

If you search Flickr for Waterhouse Groninger, you get all sorts of wonderful images from the current Waterhouse exhibit's first stop. Including this great shot, entitled "Two of a kind"



Many more wonderful shots of people enjoying the amazing art.





And some great detail shots of the paintings themselves:



There are many more amazing shots on Flickr that I couldn't save and transfer, so please go through the link and drool.
I simply cannot get enough of Waterhouse's work. This blog certainly demonstrates my bias at times. But there's just something about the photos of people admiring the original artworks, and photographs I know were taken of *the real thing* that sends chills of excitement down my spine.

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Music Video for LoS Film


If, like me, you can't get enough teasers for the Lady of Shalott film, you must watch this lovely music video, featuring a song written for the film performed on cittern by Dante Ferrara.

The Waterhouse fanatic in me giddily must point out to you...look at the leaf on her skirt!! They got every detail right.

Edited to add...video is also available on YouTube! Click here

Monday, June 1, 2009

DeCameron or DeCarmen?


I wanted to draw your attention to this very fascinating blog post by blogger Matthew Innis. The question posed is...is the figure on the far right of the artwork The Decameron by Waterhouse a man, or a woman?

Read the blog post, and feel free to post your thoughts!