William Morris: MIA at Target

Some of you may know about this already, but one week ago tomorrow, Target premiered its new Liberty of London line of products sold exclusively in their stores and online. I got a heads-up from a friend on this new line of products (everything from bicycles to dresses, all in LoL patterns) and was eagerly anticipating the day when I could see all that was available.

I searched the website last Sunday, only to find that not only were all the prints newer style (i.e. cute but quite 60s-2000s-looking) but there was no William Morris to be seen! Liberty of London and Morris to me are synonymous, and I was shocked that they wouldn't use his patterns.

So this afternoon I went with my husband to the stores to try on some of their LoL dresses (all unflattering on me) and see what housewares they had. And in-person, I finally found a William Morris pattern.

Allow me to introduce the "Dunclare" set of canisters, size medium. Of course size small and size large both are completely unrelated black and white non-Morris patterns, and therefore I had no use for a single canister, but at least it's William Morris at Target. ONE single canister with Morris's Sunflower pattern, uncredited, in the entire Liberty of London line.

(PS: I did also find a clipboard in the office section with the Sunflower pattern on it too...to the best of my knowledge, that's it for the entire line)

I'm simultaneously giddy to see Morris at Target, and disappointed that there isn't more.

Art Nouveau

Art Nouveau, the New Art, was paradoxically backward-looking, flirting with the Ancient of Days, the Sphinx, the Chimera, Venus under the Tannenberg, Persian peacocks, melusines, and Rhine maidens, along with hairy-legged Pan and draped and dangerous oriental priestesses. Some of its newness derived from the deep dream of the lost past which informed both Burne-Jones's palely loitering knights and porcelain-fine maidens, and Morris's sense of saga-scenes and bright embroidered hangings. But it was radically new also, in its use of spinning, coiling, insinuating lines derived from natural forms, its rendering in new metal of tree-shapes newly observed, its abandonment of the solid worth of gold and diamonds for the aesthetic delights of nonprecious metals and semi-precious stones, mother-of-pearl, grained wood, amethyst, coral, moonstone. It was an art at once of frozen stillness, and images of rapid movement. It was an art of shadows and glitter that understood the new force that transfigured both the exhibition and the century to come. Electricity.

--A gorgeous description of Art Nouveau and its influences, from page 273 of the novel The Children's Book by A.S. Byatt, a book I'm reading very slowly, but enjoying.

Soul of the Rose Part II

I apologize for my silence on this blog. Life intrudes sometimes, and distracts me from my always and forever passionate pursuit of all things Pre-Raphaelite. While you are waiting, let me distract you with something lovely.

My friend Christine subscribes to English Home magazine. In their current issue, they feature an article on home-dec fabrics where they feature the fabrics on a stunning redheaded model. This image blew me away, and I had her husband Lee scan it for me. To me, with the blue fabric and the red hair, it looks like the model from The Soul of the Rose by Waterhouse meandered past the gardens on her way back into her manor.


Click to see larger of course.

Baba Studio Strikes Again!

I've featured Baba Studio before on my blog, but they've struck gold again (and always do!) with their prototype new Evelyn De Morgan wrap, and Burne-Jones corset (left model, picture 2, click picture to see larger).

Sadly, it is my understanding that they haven't successfully found a way to produce the Burne-Jones corset for available sale, but they are working on making a new line of Pre-Raphaelite high quality wraps for sale in their store soon.

Baba Studio has a really great graphic arts eye for knowing what artworks will work in what mediums, and that knowledge really shines through in this corset and wrap.

Pre-Raphaelite Tattoos

I still have more to say about the Aesthetic Movement, rest assured, but today I thought I'd share a few tattoos inspired by Pre-Raphaelite and associated artists. A friend, who shall remain unnamed until her permission is obtained to share, just got a new tattoo that was apparently inspired by William Morris. The idea appealed to me so much, I wanted to search online for more Brotherhood tattoos. Surprisingly, there aren't very many!

A gorgeous tattoo inspired by William Morris:

This one is based on his Willow pattern. I love how very organic it is.

This one is based on Christina Rossetti's Goblin Market:

The below two are inspired by a William Morris poem.

LOVE is enough: though the World be a-waning,

And the woods have no voice but the voice of complaining,

Though the sky be too dark for dim eyes to discover

The gold-cups and daisies fair blooming thereunder,

Though the hills be held shadows, and the sea a dark wonder,

And this day draw a veil over all deeds pass'd over,

Yet their hands shall not tremble, their feet shall not falter;

The void shall not weary, the fear shall not alter

These lips and these eyes of the loved and the lover.

by William Morris(1834-1896)

Finally, there's this incredible sleeve of Waterhouse's Ophelia:

Burne-Jones had his own opinion of the famous "tattooed lady" whom he sketched:

But I think the Brotherhood would approve of the above gorgeous tattoos!

The Oscar Wilde / Patience / Aesthetic Teapot

So, lately I've been reading a lot about the late Victorian philosophical and cultural movement of Aestheticism. The definition of the movement, according to the Philosophy Dictionary is the "doctrine associated with late 19th-century writers and artists, including Walter Pater, James McNeill Whistler, and especially Oscar Wilde. It holds that the appreciation of art and beauty is the highest aim of human life, and especially that the pursuit of such experience is not constrained by ordinary moral considerations. Art itself serves no ulterior moral or political purpose. The ‘Aesthetic Movement’ was a useful reaction against the didactic religious and moral art of the time and helped artists and critics to concentrate upon the formal and internal qualities of works of art."

Although not all of the Pre-Raphaelites were Aesthetes, their art was rather central to the movement. Rossetti's penchant for purchasing blue and white china started a collecting craze, and in Burne-Jones' biography written by his wife, he lamented that sunflowers had become such a "trend" (they were a symbol of Aestheticism) and emphasized that his love for sunflowers predated the movement. The work of William Morris (and the creation of Red House) is often mentioned in articles on Aestheticism as well.

Anyway, Aestheticism and the Pre-Raphaelites were quite closely related, so this week I wanted to do a few posts on Aestheticism.

First I had to feature this famous teapot. The Oscar Wilde / Patience / Aesthetic teapot (can be found using all three search terms, but it's mostly known simply as the Aesthetic teapot) was made as a reaction to the bold and unique fashion and personality of Oscar Wilde, the Aesthetic Movement's "poster child." Any counter-cultural movement will encounter its critics and its parodies, and one form of parody was this teapot, made to resemble an Aesthetic dandy. One major criticism of Aestheticism was that it was demasculinizing, and the statement made with this teapot certainly would be viewed today as more than a little intolerant. But I have to admit, I find the man depicted on it utterly charming.

"Probably the most famous figural teapot is the "Aesthetic" teapot made in 1882. The clever, two-sided pot depicts a man on one side, a woman on the other. It was inspired by the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta "Patience."

The teapot, made by the Royal Worcester pottery in England, is difficult to clean. The handle and spout made pouring tea difficult. The head was the removable cover, and the tea was poured from a hole in the figure's hand."

Written on the bottom of the teapot is the words "Fearful consequences through the laws of Natural Selection and Evolution of living up to one's Teapot."

Note the sunflower on the man's side of the teapot, and the lily on the woman's. All sorts of parodies featured the doe-eyed gazing at these flowers on the part of Aesthetes. Also note the gorgeous smocking on the woman's gown, which was often featured on Aesthetic gowns.

When I read that this teapot was not one-of-a-kind, but mass produced, I thought to myself "well perhaps I can save up and someday purchase one of them." Silly me. After some searching, I discovered a listing on Christies for a teapot that sold at auction in 2001. The final hammer price? $11,163. That would buy a lot of tea.

Pre-Raphaelite Cartoons

Thanks to Art Magick for letting me post these wonderful Victorian cartoons parodying the art of some artists we may know around here.

Scene at a Hot-Whisky-and-Water House. "Now then, altogether, my piping bullfinches!" Chorus---

A caricature of Waterhouse's 'Circe' taken from an 1891 edition of 'Judy'. 'Judy' was a 19th century satirical magazine, a rival to the better known 'Punch'

A lamentation from the satirical magazine Punch upon reviewing an exhibition at London's Grosvenor Gallery.

From "The G.G.G., or Grosvenor Gallery Guide"

"Once more on our "Gee-Gee," and "yet we are not Hobby!" which might be what the kettle in the fender said to the fire-irons. Now for the G.G. (occasionally) Guy'd. We burn - burn-jones - with excitement to see what that eminent Pagan Aesthetic has to show us. We dash at the Catalogue. We rush at the Busy "B.'s" in the Index. Heavens! From "BALL" to "BYWATER" without a BURNE-JONES. Stay! Is he modestly under "J."? No. JACKLING and JOPSON - I beg their pardons, I should have JOPLING and JACKSON exhaust that portion of the alphabet between them. "What, no JONES! So he died, and she very imprudently," &c., &c.

O where, and O where is my little BURNE-JONES?
O where on earth can he be?
With his tinsel and gold and his sage-green tones,
He's not in this Galleree!

From 'Punch', June 25, 1881


Never fear, Punch found Burne-Jones the following year and came up with another pun:

'Take me, Take my trunk". By E. Burne-Jones, or 'Ty-Burn Jones' for the deadly liveliness of the figures.

Punch, May 20, 1882